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When I say someone ought to have the records to me that someone is the plan sponsor. In all the years as a TPA we always gave the client (the plan sponsor) either a paper (until some time in the mid to late 2000s) or pdf copy of all the data that showed everyone's account balance and the change from period to period. I know they don't always do a good job of keeping them but your ex-spouses employer ought to have the data needed to compute this accurately. I would ask their HR department or the person in charge of the plan to search their records.

back in 2010 I gave an ASPPA talk on distributions and this is what I had for missed minimum distributions. sorry, these are the actual notes, so you have to put up with the dry humor that I included. but basically it is about the same as jpod indicated ............................................................... Oooops. You missed the minimum distribution, now what? Make sure there is enough evidence in the folder that your co-worker gets blamed. It's not my job to run the train. The whistle I don't blow. It's not my job to say how far, the train is supposed to go. I'm not allowed to pull the brake, or even ring the bell. But let the damn thing leave the track, And see who catches hell! ............................................................ You can’t ask for the penalty to be waived until you have actually taken the distribution. This is proof you are trying to fix the situation as soon as possible. Fill out form 5329. Write letter begging for mercy, explaining the reason you didn’t receive the minimum distribution was the incompetence of the investment house or something similar. Years ago, it was required to send in the 50% penalty and hope the IRS would have leniency and waive the penalty and return the money. Now simply send in the letter with the Form 5329, and if they don’t accept your lame excuse they will bill you.

403(b)???? no exclusions allowed in this case. Either don't allow person to get 1,000 hours or suck it up.

To me this is a payroll issue and not a plan problem. I would refer it back to their CPA and payroll company to decide how to fix.

I would never use it today either, but it was good back in the day, especially before the automatic rollover rules came into being. And especially if the plan was terminating. It was never sanctioned by the IRS, it was one of those workarounds that used to happen, more or less below the radar. Then I think someone asked about it at an ASPPA conference Q&A with the IRS, and that was pretty much the end of that.