My wife left a job in CA on good terms in 2013, and received a letter of an overpaid match to her 401k in July of 2015. The amount is about $1000. First letter ignored. Second letter threatened collections. I spoke with HR and they are sending us audit evidence to show the overpayment, which stopped the clock on collections. I don't feel like the audit was done timely, and do not want to give the money back unless I am sued and a judgement entered against me. Can they legally send me to "collections" or must they sue to recapture the funds? What are my options? We used the 401k to pay for professional graduate education tuition, and would be paying out of pocket (with student-loan money).
