What if I terminate my employment with Samford before I am eligible to start retirement?
If your employment at Samford University stops before you are eligible for retirement, you will still be entitled to the benefit that you have earned up to the day your employment ended if you have earned at least five years of Vesting Service. Your benefit is computed in a manner similar to the Early Retirement Benefit, using the Basic Benefit Formula with your Average Final Compensation and Credited Service (and Covered Compensation, if applicable) that apply on the date your employment ends. You will begin receiving benefits at age 65, but you may instead elect to receive your benefit payments beginning at any time after you reach age 55, reduced in the same manner as Early Retirement Benefit payments beginning before age 65. However, if the present value of your benefit is $5,000 or less, you will receive your benefit in a lump sum as soon as practicable after you terminate employment after mandatory withholding of income tax. In the alternative, you may choose to have the lump sum
