General Rules for Requesting a Loan

Whether or not you can borrow from your retirement savings account depends on where your money is invested. TIAA-CREF does not allow loans from their investment options. Fidelity and Vanguard funds are subject to certain rules and restrictions.

Loan Eligibility

As a participant in the Stanford Contributory Retirement Plan (SCRP), you may be eligible to take a loan from your account balance held in Fidelity and/or Vanguard funds. To request a loan you must have a total account balance in these funds of at least $2,000.

Before requesting a loan, you should be aware of the general provisions of the loan program:

• You can have only one outstanding loan at any time.
• The minimum amount you can request is $1,000.
• The maximum amount you can request is 50% of your account balance up to $50,000 (reduced by the highest aggregate outstanding loan balance under the plan or any other plan within the controlled group* during the year that ends on the date before the loan is made).
• The interest rate is the prime rate plus 1% and is determined at the time you request a loan.
• If the loan is to purchase your primary residence, you may elect to repay the loan over a period of up to 15 years. If the loan is for any other reason, you may take up to five years to repay the loan.
• You must be employed by Stanford University or SLAC at the time your loan application
  is approved.

*Important Information on “Controlled Group”

Stanford University is required to follow IRS regulations that mandate the university treat its retirement plans and plans maintained by other Stanford-related employers as belonging to a single “controlled group” for various purposes. This controlled group includes Stanford University, Stanford Hospitals and Clinics (Stanford Hospital), Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and SAA Sierra Programs LLC (including Alpine Chalet). Employees who work for any of these organizations will be considered, for certain administrative purposes, to be employed by the same employer: Stanford.

If you have been employed by any of the other entities within the controlled group and have taken a loan that has had an outstanding balance within the last 12 months, it may affect the loan amount available to you. This will be determined during the review of your loan request
by Stanford.

All distributions must be signed off and approved by Stanford Benefits.

Loan Fees

A $50 administrative fee is charged on each loan from the plan. In addition, you pay a quarterly maintenance fee of $6.25. These fees are deducted directly from your account.

Repaying a Loan

Loan repayments are monthly through an automatic transfer of funds from your checking or savings account into your SCRP account.

Apply for a Loan

To apply for a loan, call (888) 793-8733 and speak with a Fidelity Representative.

Before you request a loan, you can model various loan scenarios on the Stanford Retirement Manager Web site.