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For purposes of determining when the Participant's "earliest retirement date" is, one step in the process is to determine the later of (i) the date on which the Participant reaches age 50, and (ii) the date that is "the earliest date on which the Participant could begin receiving benefits under the plan if the Participant separated from service with the employer"? Two questions: First, does (ii) mean the participant must actually separate from service for the ERD requirement to be satisfied? In other words, if the Participant separated from service the AP could get the money immediately, but does the participant actually have to separate for that provision to kick in? Is that logical? Second, a QDRO contains the following language that appears to come from the regs: In the event that... the AP account balance is less than $1,000…and the AP does not elect to…receive a distribution…, then such Account shall be distributed to the Alternate Payee upon the earlier of (i) the date that the Participant terminates from employment with the Plan sponsor or (ii) the date that the Participant attains age 50. Is a QDRO required to contain that language, i.e. are we required to track the age of the participant and force a cashout of the AP account when the participant turns 50, or can we rescind that language in our model QDRO so that the AP can remain a deferred participant who can take them money at any time before/after the participant turns 50 (and before age 70½? Thank you for your insight. May your journey today be free of incident. S