A. Direct rollovers. Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary that would otherwise limit a distributee's election under this subsection, on and after January 1, 1993, a distributee may elect, at the time and in the manner prescribed by the Board, to have any portion of an eligible rollover distribution paid directly to an eligible retirement plan specified by the distributee in a direct rollover.
B. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
DIRECT ROLLOVER — A direct rollover is a payment by the system to the eligible retirement plan specified by the distributee.
DISTRIBUTEE — A distributee includes any member. In addition, a member's surviving spouse and the member's spouse or former spouse who is the alternate payee under a domestic relations order, as defined in Section 414(p) of the Code, are distributees with regard to the interest of the spouse or former spouse. Effective with respect to distributions after 2009, a distributee also means a beneficiary of a member other than a surviving spouse.
ELIGIBLE RETIREMENT PLAN — An eligible retirement plan is an individual retirement account described in Code Section 408(a), an individual retirement annuity described in Code Section 408(b), a Roth IRA as pursuant to Code Section 408A(e), for distributions made after December 31, 2001, an annuity plan described in Code Section 403(a) or an annuity contract described in Code Section 403(b), a qualified trust described in Code Section 401(a), or for distributions made after December 31, 2001, an eligible plan under Code Section 457(b) which is maintained by a state, political subdivision of a state, or any agency or instrumentality of a state or political subdivision of a state and which agrees to separately account for amounts transferred into such plan from this plan. The definition of eligible retirement plan shall also apply in the case of a distribution to a surviving spouse, or to a spouse or former spouse who is the alternate payee under a domestic relation order, as defined in Code Section 414(p). Effective in the case of an eligible rollover distribution to a surviving spouse before 2002 or to a beneficiary other than a surviving spouse after 2009, an eligible retirement plan is an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity.
ELIGIBLE ROLLOVER DISTRIBUTION — An eligible rollover distribution is any distribution of all or any portion of the balance to the credit of the distributee, except that an eligible rollover distribution does not include any distribution that is one of a series of substantially equal periodic payments (not less frequently than annually) made for the life (or life expectancy) of the distributee or the joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of the distributee and the distributee's designated beneficiary, or for a specified period of 10 years or more; any distribution to the extent such distribution is required under Code Section 401(a)(9); the portion of any distribution that is not includible in gross income (determined without regard to the exclusion for net unrealized appreciation with respect to employer securities); and any distribution that is made upon hardship of a member. Notwithstanding anything in this definition to the contrary, for distributions made after December 31, 2001, a portion of a distribution shall not fail to be an eligible rollover distribution merely because the portion consists of after-tax employee contributions that are not includible in gross income. However, such portion may be paid only to an individual retirement account or annuity, or to a qualified defined contribution plan described in Section 401(a) or 403(a) of the Code, or a governmental 457 plan that agrees to separately account for amounts so transferred, including separately accounting for the portion of such distribution which is includible in gross income and the portion of such distribution which is not.