§ 503. Construction of Power Relating to Retirement Plan Transactions
503. Construction of Power Relating to Retirement Plan Transactions
(a) In a statutory durable power of attorney, the language conferring authority with respect to retirement plan transactions empowers the attorney in fact or agent to do any lawful act the principal may do with respect to a transaction relating to a retirement plan, including to:
(1) apply for service or disability retirement benefits;
(2) select payment options under any retirement plan in which the principal participates, including plans for self-employed individuals;
(3) designate or change the designation of a beneficiary or benefits payable by a retirement plan, except that an attorney in fact or agent may be named a beneficiary only to the extent the attorney in fact or agent was a named beneficiary under the retirement plan before the durable power of attorney was executed;
(4) make voluntary contributions to retirement plans if authorized by the plan;
(5) exercise the investment powers available under any self-directed retirement plan;
(6) make “rollovers” of plan benefits into other retirement plans;
(7) borrow from, sell assets to, and purchase assets from retirement plans if authorized by the plan;
(8) waive the right of the principal to be a beneficiary of a joint or survivor annuity if the principal is a spouse who is not employed;
(9) receive, endorse, and cash payments from a retirement plan;
(10) waive the right of the principal to receive all or a portion of benefits payable by a retirement plan; and
(11) request and receive information relating to the principal from retirement plan records.
(b) In this section, “retirement plan” means:
(1) an employee pension benefit plan as defined by Section 1002, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (29 U.S.C. Section 1002), without regard to the provisions of Section (2)(B) of that section;
(2) a plan that does not meet the definition of an employee benefit plan under ERISA because the plan does not cover common law employees;
(3) a plan that is similar to an employee benefit plan under ERISA, regardless of whether it is covered by Title I of ERISA, including a plan that provides death benefits to the beneficiary of employees; and
(4) an individual retirement account or annuity or a self-employed pension plan or similar plan or account.