Diversification is when an active employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) participant can exchange employer securities held in his or her ESOP account for cash or other investments. Having a diverse retirement portfolio can reduce an employee’s financial risk. To avoid having most of their retirement savings invested in just one company, ESOP participants who meet certain eligibility requirements may elect to cash in a portion of their ESOP stock account to diversify their investments.
A “qualified participant” is any employee who has reached age 55 and completed at least 10 years of participation in the ESOP. A plan sponsor may choose to have more liberal provisions within the plan but must at least meet these minimum requirements. For example, an ESOP could allow any participant who has reached age 50 and completed five years to diversify.
The qualified participant must be allowed to make his or her diversification election within 90 days of each “qualified election period.” Many ESOPs may not know the final stock allocation or stock value by the end of this 90-day period. In general, the ESOP should provide a qualified participant with information and a revocable election to diversify within the 90-day period. After the total share value is known, the ESOP should provide the participant with an updated notice and an opportunity to change his or her initial election.
The qualified election period is the six-plan-year period that begins with the first plan year in which the participant becomes a qualified participant. During the first year of the qualified election period, an ESOP participant may elect to diversify up to 25 percent of the shares of employer stock that have been allocated to his or her account after 1986. Diversification elections are cumulative in nature, meaning any amount diversified each year reduces the total number of shares eligible for diversification in subsequent years.
Three options can be used to satisfy an ESOP’s diversification requirement:
- The ESOP may make a distribution directly to the participant. The participant may then choose to reinvest the funds on his or her own. One thing to note with this option is that unless the distributed funds are rolled over into an IRA or another qualified plan, the individual may be subject to income tax or early withdrawal penalties.
- The ESOP may establish at least three diversified investment funds with the plan that participants can choose to invest in.
- The diversified funds could be transferred to another qualified retirement plan maintained by the employer, such as a 401(k) plan, if that plan offers at least three investment options.
There are a lot of pros in being an ESOP member, and diversification is one of them.