I retired at 49 from a career in public safety, but was in the 401(a) retirement plan for over 25 years. Under section 329 of the Secure 2.0 act, the 10% penalty would now be waived on any distributions I take from that plan. Before making a withdrawal, I looked at the affiliated paperwork from the company (updated 12/20/22) and the tax notices address the after 50 eligibility for a waiver (does not apply to me), but not the 25 years of service waiver, so I called to get confirmation. The rep I spoke to (a senior advisor for our plan), was adamant that unless you meet the retired after 55 in the plan or were 59 1/2, regardless of profession, that they would code any distributions from the plan as an early withdrawal. When I tried to explain why it would not be considered an early withdrawal, he said I should talk to a tax preparer. If they do code it as an early withdrawal, how much of a headache is it going to cause me at tax time to explain it to the IRS that I qualify for an exception to the 10% penalty?
On another note, I have have a 457 and a 401(a) account with the same company. Other than simplification, are their pros or cons of rolling one into the other, and if the pros outweigh the cons, should I role the non-qualified account into the qualified, or vice versa? Thanks so much!