Deseret 401(k) Plan

The Deseret 401(k) Plan is a traditional safe harbor defined contribution plan offered to all eligible BYUH employees. You can contribute a percentage of your gross income each pay period on a Before-tax or After-tax basis. Brigham Young University–Hawaii will make a matching contribution of up to 4% into your account.

Eligibility

You are eligible to begin participating in the Deseret 401(k) Plan on your hire date if you are:

At least 21 years old
Scheduled to work at least 1,000 hours per calendar year
Employed by a participating employer, and
Not hired into an excluded class

BYU–Hawaii Matching Contributions

All eligible university personnel are eligible to receive BYU–Hawaii matching contributions according to the schedule below:

Employee Contribution	Employer Match	Total Contribution
1%	1%	2%
2%	2%	4%
3%	3%	6%
4%	3.5%	7.5%
5% or more	4%	9% or more

Vesting

Vesting means ownership of the funds in your account. You are always 100% vested in the value of your contributions to the Deseret 401(k) Plan, including BYU–Hawaii’s employer match contributions. This means that if you terminate your employment with the University you will receive not only your own contributions but also the University's matching funds and all earnings.

Account Types

There are two account types to which an employee may make contributions: the before-tax 401(k) and after-tax Roth 401(k).

You can deposit all your contributions into one or more options. However, only one employer matching contribution will be made, and it will be deposited into your account on a before-tax basis.
The total annual employee 401(k) contribution must not exceed $19,500 for 2020. (Eligible participants age 50 or over can also make catch-up contributions up to $6,500 for a total of $26,000 for 2020.)
The total before-tax 401(k), after-tax Roth 401(k), EDRC, and employer match may not exceed $57,000 ($63,500 if over age 50).
Please be aware contributions to other retirement accounts such as the TIAA 403(b) would also count toward these limits.
Click here to visit the irs.gov webpage for more contribution limit information.

Contributions and Earnings

Changes can be made to contribution percentages at any time. The percentage must be in one percent increments; no fractional percentages are allowed.

The tax treatment of contributions and earnings are detailed in the following table:

	401(k) Before Tax	401(k) After Tax
Employee Contributions	Taxed when withdrawn	Taxed before contribution
Employee Contribution Earnings	Taxed when withdrawn	Tax free (if you meet qualifications)
Employer Match	Taxed when withdrawn	Taxed when withdrawn
Employer Match Earnings	Taxed when withdrawn	Taxed when withdrawn

Investment Funds

The Deseret 401(k) Plan offers eleven individual funds and five pre-set mix options for the allocation of your contributions. You are allowed to change the investment mix once every 15 days. Before-tax and after-tax funds are combined for investment purposes.

The preset mixes are designed to match your general investment horizon until you begin to significantly use your money:

Stock-only preset mix: 12+ years
Long-term preset mix: 12+ years
Intermediate preset mix: 5 to 11 years
Short-term preset mix: 0 to 4 years
Specialty income preset mix: 0 to 15 years

Withdrawals

Funds may only be withdrawn if there is one of the following distributable events:

Age 59½
Death
Permanent disability
Early retirement (age 55+)
Termination of employment
Financial hardship

Before-tax funds that you withdraw are subject to federal and state income taxes. Tax laws require a mandatory 20% withholding. Also, an additional tax penalty equal to 10% of the taxable portion of your withdrawal will be imposed on withdrawals made prior to age 59½.