MMC Benefits Handbook
When Benefits Are Paid
Distribution Eligibility
You are entitled to payment of your:
Post-2004 account balances as soon as administratively practicable but no longer than 90 days* after you:
  • die,
  • become disabled (as defined in the Supplemental Savings & Investment Plan), or
  • separation from service on account of Retirement,
without regard to when you receive a Marsh & McLennan Companies 401(k) Savings & Investment Plan distribution.
* This standard ("as soon as administratively practicable") will be objectively determined and although it may change over time, at any given time the standard will be uniformly applied to similarly-situated participants without any discretion to change that time period and, in any event, will never be longer than 90 days following your distribution event date.
Pre-2005 account balances after you:
  • terminate employment for any reason including Retirement, or
  • die,
without regard to when you receive a Marsh & McLennan Companies 401(k) Savings & Investment Plan distribution.
Note: Your pre-2005 account balance cannot be paid upon the event of disability since disability does not trigger a termination event. Pre-2005 account balances can only be distributed following termination or death.
You are considered eligible to retire if you terminate your employment with the Company when you are at least age 55 with 5 years of vesting service or you are age 65 or older.
If you terminate employment and you are not eligible to retire, your account will be distributed in a single lump sum automatically.
You can't borrow from the Plan. Loans and in-service withdrawals are not allowed.
Post-2004 Distributions
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 409A, enacted as part of The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, imposes rules that govern post-2004 account balance in the Supplemental Savings & Investment Plan. IRC Section 409A impacts post-2004 account balance distributions. Post-2004 account balance distributions must be distributed as soon as administratively practicable, and, in general no later than 90 days following a permissible IRC Section 409A distribution event.
IRC Section 409A distribution events include:
  • Death.
  • Disability – you are absent from work due to your own physical or mental condition and you receive six months pay under the Marsh & McLennan Companies Short Term Disability Benefits Policy and six months pay under the Marsh & McLennan Companies Long Term Disability Plan. The total 12-month payment period under the Short Term Disability Benefits Policy and Long Term Disability Plan must be continuous and must relate to a single physical or mental condition.
  • Separation from Service.
Separation from Service
You are considered to have separated from service when:
  • The number of hours you perform service for the Company in a week is 20% or less of the average weekly hours you worked during the previous three-year period.
  • You are on an unpaid leave of absence for more than six months (or longer period if required by law or contract).
Separation from Service Due to a Reduction in Hours
In accordance with the rules under IRC Section 409A, a separation from service is deemed to occur when the number of hours you perform service for the Company in a week is 20% or less of the average weekly hours you worked during the previous three- year period. If you perform services as a salaried employee, your regularly scheduled hours are used to determine the number of hours performed. If you should perform services as an hourly-paid employee or as an independent contractor, your actual hours will be used to determine if a separation from service has occurred. You do not have to terminate employment to incur a separation from service.
If you terminate your employment but continue to perform service for the Company on any basis, you will be deemed to have incurred a separation from service only if the number of hours you work per week is 20% or less than the average number of hours you worked per week over the previous three years.
Separation from Service Due to an Unpaid Leave of Absence
A separation from service is deemed to occur if you are on an unpaid leave of absence for more than six months (or longer period if required by law or contract).