Self-Certified Hardship withdrawal

Does the plan document need to have an amendment that allows for the participant to self-certify the request?  Does the participant need to provide any documentation to the Plan Administrator/Trustee for the hardship reason and the amount required.

The request is being made for the full amount in the participants account

Does anything now in the plan’s governing documents restrict the way the plan’s administrator decides a claim for a hardship distribution?

Betcha the Participant is trying to keep a spouse from receiving any share of the Participant's account without having to first terminate his/her employment. 

Do your Plan documents or the governing law or regs require notice to or consent by a spouse?  

See https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-hardship-distributions

...that starts with: 

"Although not required, a retirement plan may allow participants to receive hardship distributions. A distribution from a participant’s elective deferral account can only be made if the distribution is both:

>Due to an immediate and heavy financial need.
>Limited to the amount necessary to satisfy that financial need."

How can the Plan Sponsor comply with this requirement by allowing an employee to self-certify that they are telling the truth.  How about due diligence?  

Check out all of the links at the bottom of the IRS page and tell the Plan Administrator to ask their lawyer for advice so they will have somebody to sue when the Plan Administrator is sued. 

For the statute that allows a retirement plan’s administrator to rely on a participant’s written statement:

Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.) § 401(k)(14)(C):

“In determining whether a distribution is upon the hardship of an employee, the administrator of the plan may rely on a written certification by the employee that the distribution is— 
(i) on account of a financial need of a type which is deemed in regulations prescribed by the Secretary to be an immediate and heavy financial need, and
(ii) not in excess of the amount required to satisfy such financial need, and
[iii] that the employee has no alternative means reasonably available to satisfy such financial need.

The Secretary may provide by regulations for exceptions to the rule of the preceding sentence in cases where the plan administrator has actual knowledge to the contrary of the employee’s certification, and for procedures for addressing cases of employee misrepresentation.”

http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:26 section:401 edition:prelim) OR (granuleid:USC-prelim-title26-section401)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true

3 hours ago, fmsinc said:

Betcha the Participant is trying to keep a spouse from receiving any share of the Participant's account without having to first terminate his/her employment. 

That's quite the statement without knowing anything about the plan or the participant.