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Some 401(k) plans have many different types of distributions besides lump sum on termination of employment, e.g. hardship, non-hardship in-service after attainment of age 59-1/2, in-service at any age from rollover account, partial distributions after separation from employment, and RMDs. If the plan also has Roth elective deferrals and an in-plan Roth rollover feature, an employee's accounts for elective deferrals, nonelective, matching, and rollover may all contain both Roth and non-Roth accumulations. So when a distribution of less than 100% of any account is made, you have to determine the portion that is Roth, and the portion that is not Roth. The 401(k) LRMs allow a plan to provide that distributions of excess contributions after failure of ADP test are made first from non-Roth amounts, but aside from that, I can find no guidance from IRS regarding what it thinks is permissible and have come to conclusion that it is up to the plan and that the plan can also let the participant decide in his/her distribution request form. E.g., plan document could permit a participant who qualifies for an age 59-1/2 non-hardship in-service distribution, who wants to receive $50k as distribution, and who has $100k of Roth and $100k of non-Roth spread over elective deferral, matching, and nonelective accounts to elect to take the entire $50k from the non-Roth. Also, plan could provide that RMDs always came first from non-Roth until non-Roth exhausted. Anyone else given this some thought or found guidance on the question that I am unaware of? One major vendor has a distribution form that seems to permit what I describe in prior paragraph (i.e., employee choice), but I did not find a supporting provision in its volume submitter.