Content area
Full text
Spousal consent for loan withdrawals was pulled out of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1997 last week after coming up against staunch opposition from groups that feared more regulation would hurt plan formation and slow administrative processes as well as from women's organizations that saw the initiative as an affront to women's rights. While the bill would affect both men and women, ironically it comes at a time when women are finally achieving some equity in the workplace and are in some cases bringing home more than their husbands.
GENRAD
GenRad's $45 million, 700-life plan has required the spouse's notarized consent to 401 (k) loans for more than eight years, according to Lori Hannay, v.p., human resources. She acknowledges, however, that the notarization requirement causes delays in processing the paperwork and that most participants find it irritating and inconvenient to get their partners consent.
Hannay believes the loan consent is a good idea because she has had to deal directly with recently divorced spouses who were shocked to find their partners' retirement account depleted. Hannay does not necessarily believe that assuring spousal communication is the company's responsibility, "but," she says, "at least...