• Have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
• Have a spouse or dependent who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
• Experience adverse financial consequences because of being quarantined, furloughed, being laid off, or having work hours reduced because of the disease.
• Are unable to work because they lack childcare because of the disease.
• Own a business that has closed or operate under reduced hours because of the disease.
• Meet some other reason that the IRS decides to say is OK.

• Exempt from the 10% penalty – Individuals under the age of 59 ½ may access retirement funds without the normal penalty that would otherwise apply.
• Not subject to mandatory withholding requirements – Typically, eligible rollover distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans are subject to mandatory federal withholding of at least 20%. The participant can provide a self-certification that they meet the requirements.
• Eligible to be repaid over three years – Beginning on the day after an individual receives a coronavirus-related distribution, they have up to three years to roll all or any portion of the distribution back into a retirement account. Repayment can be made via a single rollover, or multiple partial rollovers made during the three-year period. An amended return can be filed to claim a refund of any tax paid attributable to the rolled over amount.
• Income may be spread over three years – By default, the income from a distribution is split evenly over 2020, 2021, and 2022. A taxpayer can, however, elect to include all the income in their 2020 income.

• Maximum loan amount is increased to $100,000 – The maximum amount that may be borrowed from an employer plan is $50,000. The CARES Act doubles this amount for affected individuals.
• 100% of the vested balance may be used – Once an individual has a vested plan balance that exceeds $20,000, they are only eligible to take a loan of up to 50% of that amount (up to the normal maximum of $50,000). The CARES Act amends this rule for affected individuals, allowing them to take a loan equal to their vested plan balance, dollar-for-dollar, up to the $100,000 maximum amount.
• Delay of payments – Any payments that would otherwise be owed on the plan loan from the date of enactment through the end of 2020 may be delayed for up to one year.
• Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are waived in 2020 – Section 2203 of the CARES Act amends IRC Section 401(a)(9) to suspend RMDs during 2020. The applies to traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs, as well as 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans. The relief applies to retirement account owners and beneficiaries taking stretch distributions.