How Your Minor’s Trust Fund is Managed

Understanding the EBCI Minor’s Trust Fund

The EBCI Minor’s Trust Fund is a financial resource for enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), funded by per capita distributions from gaming revenue.

Management of the Minor’s Trust Fund

The Minor’s Trust Fund is overseen by the Investment Committee (IC), which is appointed by the Principal Chief and approved by Tribal Council. The committee manages the trust with the assistance of a consulting group that provides investment recommendations.

All investment decisions adhere to an Investment Policy Statement, which is reviewed annually. The goal is to maximize growth while minimizing potential losses. However, like all investments, the trust fund experiences periods of both growth and decline. To protect participants, the contributed amount (the per capita payments) is indemnified by Tribal Council, ensuring that at a minimum, participants will receive their original contributed amount.

How your Funds are Invested

Your funds are invested with the assistance of USI Consulting Group and held at Charles Schwab.

Accessing Your Account

Each participant in the Minor’s Trust Fund has online access to their account, allowing them to:

• View their account balance
• Access quarterly statements
• Retrieve 1099-MISC tax forms

To register your account, visit Minors Trust Fund – Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and follow the provided instructions.

Understanding Your Account Balance

When viewing your Trust Fund balance, it is divided into two components:

• Contributions – These are the funds deposited into your account from gaming revenue.
• Earnings – This reflects the returns generated by investments on those contributions. Since funds remain invested until withdrawn, they are subject to both gains and losses.

Withdraws and GenWell Options

Annual Withdraws

Although participants are allowed to leave their funds in their account until age 65, for those who wish to make a withdraw of their funds, participants are eligible to withdraw $60,000 once per calendar year at the following ages:

• Age 18*
• Age 19*
  • * In order to be eligible for the Age 18 or Ag 19 distribution, you must have received your high school diploma or GED equivalent and completed the required financial literacy course through Stocktrak.com/ebci.
• Age 20**
  • ** If you have never received a distribution from your MTF, at Age 20, you can request a multi-year distribution for your Age 18, 19, & 20 distributions, but only your Age 20 distribution will be tax free under GenWell.
• Age 21
• Age 22
• Age 23
• Age 24

At Age 25, you can choose to either:

Other Withdraws

Additionally, participants may request withdrawals outside of the above schedule for items such as healthcare, education, or housing.

For participants of any age, withdraws can be made for:

• Medical expenses not covered by insurance or the Cherokee Indian Hospital or other tribally-funded programs.
• Educational expenses not covered by the EBCI Education Department.

For participants over the age of 18:

• Home purchases. You can withdraw up to 80% of your fund balance for the purchase of your first home that will be your primary residence. In order to qualify you must complete the required Homebuying Financial Literacy Course and submit all required documentation along with a notarized housing application.

Other withdraws can be made in addition to regular annual withdraws and must be approved by the EBCI Investment Committee. Please note that medical and educational withdraws can only be made once per calendar year, and only one housing withdraw is allowed per participant.

How to Request a Withdrawal

To access funds, participants must complete a withdrawal application, which requires a notarized signature. Applications can be obtained from the EBCI Finance Office or online at https://www.ebci.gov/minors-trust-fund/.

Applications are accepted quarterly, with submission deadlines

• March 31st for payment in June
• June 30th for payment in September
• September 30th for payment in December
• December 31st for payment in March of the following year

Taxes

Under GenWell, funds that you withdraw from your Minor’s Trust Fund are generally tax-free unless you specifically opt-out of GenWell by selecting the opt-out statement on your withdraw application.

Withdraws that are over the GenWell threshold have the taxable portions processed separately, and the amount that is over the threshold is subject to a mandatory 25% federal tax, which is withheld before the funds are disbursed.

Even though this tax is automatically taken out, it’s important to file your income taxes at the end of the year as you may be eligible for a refund of a portion of those taxes.

If you live on the Qualla Boundary, you are not required to pay state income taxes. However, if you live off the Boundary, you may be responsible for state taxes. It’s a good idea to set aside some of your funds to cover this potential expense.

For help with tax filing, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians offers a free Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program each year from February through April.

Contacts

For questions about the Minor’s Fund visit our website at: EBCI.gov/Minors-Trust-Fund or contact the Tribe’s Finance Department by phone at: 828-359-6001, or you can contact the following Treasury staff members:

How Your Minor’s Trust Fund is Managed — Quiz