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Most likely the person(s) who purchased the practice purchased only its assets, not the entity that operated the practice, in which case as a legal matter you went to work for a new employer, in which case you stopped participating in your "old" employer's 401k plan when you went to work for the "new" employer, and the "new" employer didn't take over the 401k plan and evidently is not interested in setting up one of its own, at least not yet. You may not like this, and I can understand not liking it, but there is nothing illegal or strange about it. Under these facts it is to be expected that the "old" employer will terminate its 401(k) plan, so there is nothing alarming about that. You should be receiving information about your options for taking out your money from that plan.

You are welcome. P.S. - please note in #2, I mentioned if there is any "required" employer contribution. This is really the operative phrase - it is very possible that the plan provides for an employer DISCRETIONARY match, or profit sharing contribution, which under the terms of the plan would not be required. So if all deferrals were properly deposited, it is quite possible that no further contributions are required under the terms of the plan. Again, speaking in generalities here, as we don't have full information! Good luck.

I understand your concern, but first, take a step back and take a deep breath, and don't panic yet. There may not be anything whatsoever inappropriate or "shady" going on, but I know it is difficult for you to determine that when you are getting incomplete information and/or poor communication. We are all operating on fragmentary information here at best. 1. Assuming this was an asset sale, there is no requirement for the plan to be terminated when the assets were sold back in August. 2. Did you have any deferrals that were withheld prior to the sale that have not been deposited? If so, then yes, this is a violation (perhaps not intentional) and the former employer entity will be required to deposit them and pay interest. If there is any employer required contribution (safe harbor, match, etc.) that is due for the period prior to when you became employed by a new employer, then that amount will need to be contributed prior to the plan termination being completed. 3. Address your questions, IN WRITING, to the Plan Administrator (presumably your former employer.) See what you get. The fact that you are getting any communication at all tends to make me think there is nothing deliberately shady going on, but really no way to know that from this end. Hopefully you'll get appropriate answers and all will be cleared up to your satisfaction.

Agree. Both old ER and new ER did a poor job of communicating, but poor communication is not the same as "trying to pull a fast one". However, going forward, read all communication materials carefully, and ask questions if you don't understand.

Is he really only giving you 2 days to take a distribution? That isn't clear from the facts given so far. That's true, my assumption may be off. They may be hurriedly trying to close a plan before crossing a PYE to avoid and additional 5500 filing, I don't know. Or it could just be the dates on the notice as masteff suggests.

I think the "two days" is because in post #1 the letter said plan was terminating as of 4/30 and they got the letter yesterday which was 4/28. This however does not mean that participants' accounts will cease to exist at 11:59pm Saturday. See the 3rd bullet on this IRS webpage: https://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Plan-Sponsor/401(k)-Plan-Termination You will want to figure out where you want to do a rollover of your account to. If your new employer is not providing a retirement plan, you will likely want to look at opening an IRA to receive your rollover from your 401(k). I encourage you to research rollovers and IRAs so you can make an informed decision.

Restructuring for ADP and ACP went bye-bye with the issuance of 401(k) regulations in 1991.

It is quite possible the prior employer kept the plan open until he determined if any final contributions were need for tax deduction reasons. As others have said, if no money was with held from your pay check then likely the only thing both employers are guilty of is poor communication. If this was an asset sale, and that seems likely in this case, the new employer would not even have authority to withhold 401(k) contributions without establishing a new plan and getting new deferral elections. As for the 2 days notice that is problematic as by law I believe they must give you 30 days before requiring a distribution.

Perhaps promises were broken, but such is life. No indication so far from your posts that your existing 401k money is in danger, or that any money was taken out of your pay and disappeared. Do you like your job?

"Giving us time to flip our plans. 2 days notice" and "left us with one day to take care of the matter" Would you care to provide more details to make sense of this?

I am not sure you are hurt in any way by the one-day notice, but the facts are a bit fuzzy.

I had a client just recently get back an extension approval with no PN for an extension that was sent on 11/30/2015 - I guess they are VERY behind in getting these processed. (note: the return was filed back in February prior to the approved 2/16/2016 extended due date)

If the participants could take their money without separating from service, is that supposed to be a good thing?

Typically the Plan Sponsor(seller) is responsible for closing out the old plan and filing all required IRS forms, including Form 5500. The buyer might assume responsibility in the buy/sell agreement in some instances, but this is not usually the case in my experience.

Well... in the past, the IRS took much time to enter the 5558 info into their data base. So 5500 filings just after the original due date generated late filing letters. And the best recourse was the IRS letter acknowledging the 5558 receipt and extended due date. Now, if the PN's are all 000, maybe this will cause late filing letters since the 5500 has a different PN. But I think the EFAST acknowledgement ID should be OK too. But still a hassle...