In leaving one job and taking on another, some employees forget to taketheir 401(k)or other retirement accounts with them. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. Rachel Murphy has 10 years of experience in personal finance. You can easily roll the account into a traditional or Roth IRA. The first step in addressing any problem often is knowing that there is one. "You've got to ask the right questions. THE NATIONAL REGISTRY OF UNCLAIMED RETIREMENT BENEFITS Company Number 2697500 Previous Company Numbers C2697500 Status Active Incorporation Date 26 January 2005 (about 18 years ago) Company Type Stock Corporation - CA - General Jurisdiction California (US) Registered Address 8580 LA MESA BLVD, SUITE 101 LA MESA CA 91942 United States Agent Name The funds from your old 401 then can be sent directly to your new IRA. Those unclaimed pensions total over $300 million dollars, with one individual being owed almost $1 million dollars! Watkins holds a Master of Arts in psychology. The Employee Benefits Security Administration's Abandoned Plan Program provides assistance finding abandoned pension plans and the employers associated with those plans. Finally, you may want to search the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits. Take financial wellness into your own hands and do it yourself retirement planning: easy, When someones Social Security number matches information in the database, the registry's online system displays the employer holding the retirement money. Once you have performed a search on the site and found retirement money that belongs to you, they will notify the former Plan Sponsor or Custodian holding your retirement money and email . These should provide some key data to help your search, such as your account number and contact information for the plan administrator. The service the national registry provides is free to employees and employers. If your searches uncover an old 401 account in your name, your best bet is to roll the money in that account over to your current retirement savings account, be it another 401 or an IRA. TALK TO AN EXPERT Home / Brochures + One Pagers / National Registry of Unclaimed Benefits - One Pager Brochures + One Pagers National Registry of Unclaimed Benefits - One Pager Did you find this content helpful? The strange thing about this notice was, I had no idea Id been participating in the plan while I worked there! You can take a few steps to search for your unclaimed401(k) retirement benefits. *Under penalties of perjury, I (we) hereby certify that the information I (we) provide is true and correct. Once you locate contact information for the plan administrator, call them to check on your account. MissingMoney.com will display any states in which there is a match, and provide information and links to the official government websites for beginning the claims process. Debt and waiting until a financial situation improves are top justifications financial advisors hear. Checking related plan and employer records for participant, beneficiary and next of kin/emergency contact information. If you had a traditional pension plan and it no longer exists, you can search the U.S. Pension Guaranty Corp. database to find your unclaimed pension. One Third of Those Who Changed Jobs Make 30% More, Retirement TopicsTermination of Employment. For plans that use third party record keepers to maintain plan records and handle participant communications, ensuring the record keeper is performing agreed upon services, and working with the record keeper to identify and correct shortcomings in the plans recordkeeping and communication practices, including establishing procedures for obtaining relevant information held by the employer. If you dont have an old statement, reach out to former coworkers and ask if they have an old statement. Main Menu. The system emails employers whenever someone whose record was uploaded searches the database. You invested that money with the purpose of building a retirement nest egg and thats exactly where those funds should stay. Unclaimed Pensions. .manual-search ul.usa-list li {max-width:100%;} The maximum benefit payable is currently over $45,000 per year. The service the national registry provides is free to employees and employers. Old 401k balances can be rolled into your current employers plan or rolled into an IRA in a trustee-to-trustee transfer.