Date of Adoption: December 28, 2001.

     Purpose: The amendment to WAC 415-501-510 eliminates subsection (4) of the WAC, which refers to a section being repealed elsewhere, and to a provision being eliminated under EGTRRA.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 415-501-510.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 41.50.050(5).

     Other Authority: RCW 41.50.770 and 41.50.780.

      Adopted under notice filed as WSR 01-23-041 on November 15, 2001.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Other Findings Required by Other Provisions of Law as Precondition to Adoption or Effectiveness of Rule: On October 24, 2001, the department filed a number of changes to the deferred compensation (dcp) rules to make changes under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA). The effective date for those rules is January 1, 2002. The amendment to WAC 415-501-510 was inadvertently omitted from the set of changes, and is being separately adopted with this filing. It is necessary for this amendment to go into effect on January 1, 2002, along with all of the other dcp rules.
     Effective Date of Rule: January 1, 2002.

December 28, 2001

John Charles

Director

OTS-5331.1

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 00-11-104, filed 5/18/00, effective 6/18/00)

WAC 415-501-510   Unforeseeable emergency.   (1) Distribution request. Notwithstanding any other provisions in plan chapter 415-501 WAC, in the event of an unforeseeable emergency, a participant may request the department to distribute all or a portion of accumulated deferrals. If the request is approved by the department, distribution will be made within sixty days following such an approval. The amount paid shall be limited strictly to that amount reasonably necessary to satisfy the emergency need.

     For purposes of this plan, an unforeseeable emergency shall be severe financial hardship to the participant resulting from:

     (a) A sudden and unexpected illness or accident of the participant or of a dependent (as defined in Section 152(a) of the Internal Revenue Code) of the participant,

     (b) Loss of the participant's property due to casualty, or

     (c) Other similar extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances arising as a result of events beyond the control of the participant. The circumstances that will constitute an unforeseeable emergency will depend upon the facts of each case, but, in any case, distribution shall not be made to the extent that such hardship is or may be relieved:

     (i) Through reimbursement or compensation by insurance or otherwise;

     (ii) By liquidation of the participant's assets, to the extent liquidation of such assets would not itself cause severe financial hardship; or

     (iii) By cessation of deferrals under the plan.

     Examples of what shall not be considered to be unforeseeable emergencies include the need to send a participant's child to college or the desire to purchase a home.

     A divorce does not constitute an "unforeseeable emergency" or "severe financial hardship."

     (2) Applications for review. All applications for review of decisions on requests for distribution of accumulated deferrals due to an unforeseeable emergency shall follow the procedure established in WAC 415-08-015.

     (3) Mandatory suspension. Unforeseeable emergency requests received by the department, whether approved or denied, will cause a mandatory suspension of the participant as established in WAC 415-501-470.

     (((4) Pursuant to WAC 415-501-500, once distributions to a participant begin, the distributions may not be changed except in the event of an unforeseeable emergency and subject to the provisions of this section.))

[Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.770, [41.50.]780 and 41.50.050. 00-11-104, amended and recodified as § 415-501-510, filed 5/18/00, effective 6/18/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.050. 98-20-047, § 415-524-010, filed 9/30/98, effective 10/31/98. Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.050 and 41.50.780(11). 96-16-020, § 415-524-010, filed 7/29/96, effective 7/29/96.]

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