Introducing a faster, more streamlined way for faculty and staff to withdraw funds from their 401(a), 401(k), or 403(b) retirement plans
As part of USC Retirement Administration’s ongoing efforts to improve the faculty and staff experience, the withdrawal process for 401(a), 401(k), and 403(b) plans was updated in March 2025 so that withdrawal requests are now processed directly by plan administrators Fidelity, TIAA, and Vanguard. The result: wait times that now take just 3-5 business days.
Previously, USC handled all withdrawal approvals, which meant extra processing steps for the employee. By shifting approvals to retirement plan vendors, service efficiency has been improved, and faculty and staff can now access funds more quickly when needed.
USC will continue to assist faculty and staff with loan approvals, qualified birth or adoption distributions (QBADs), qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs), and distributions for Empower and Corebridge—providing hands-on support for more complex requests.
For additional information, visit the In-service distributions page on the Employee Gateway.