Jeanie

Thank you all again. The account was finally put into my name on April 4. The statements begin on that day and there is no history prior to that. (beginning balance shows as zero) What I want from Vanguard, and has been my issue all along, is to be able to track the statements/daily balances prior to the time the account was put in my name. With no history to refer back to, how can I make any decisions about the performance of the investments? It will take weeks to months to build a new history. I realize now is not a good time to move anything until (hopefully) the market goes back up. My plan is to move everything from Vanguard at the right time and put the funds into an IRA. I'm not a risk taker and I just want out. I don't need the stress. Fortunately, I don't need the cash at this time. I am in contact with the DOL and we had decided on a 2-week waiting period to see if Vanguard would provide me with a history of statements. They have not done so, and I missed the call from the DOL today. (darn!) And so it goes...

Thank you all for your input. I will consider each response as carefully as I can. It's overwhelming to have to deal with this while also dealing with the loss of my husband. As far as I know, the employer (CBS) and/or Vanguard chose the investments, not my husband. 100% sure that would have been something he would have discussed with me.

Thank you. I had already sent the benefit claim and death certificate as of 3/22/18. When I finally reached someone today they said it would take 3 to 5 days to process and then I can access the account again. My biggest concern is them leaving the account active after my husband's death instead of freezing it. It continued to be at the mercy of Vanguard and the markets after he died and has been reduced by $8000 during that time, while I was locked out of monitoring the account. I will definitely contact his employer's benefits department as well as the Department of Labor.

My husband passed away on 2/19/18. I was able to access his account 2 days later and saw the amount that was in his 401k at Vanguard. Once I notified Vanguard of his death, I was locked out of the account. I am the beneficiary. I repeatedly called to try to get information about how to proceed with my claim. Several calls resulted in un-returned voice mails. I finally was directed to someone in "Life Events" and that person was on vacation. I was told by husband's employer's Human Resources department that I would need the death certificate. When I received that I sent it to Vanguard (on 3/22/18). I called Friday (3/29/18) and they were closed for holiday. I called today (4/2/18) and finally got a call back telling me that in 3 to 5 days I will have access to the account and was given the amount that is there now. In all this time (6 weeks since his death), my husband's 401k has decreased by $8000 from the amount I saw when I viewed the account shortly after his death. It was my understanding that his account would be frozen as of the day of his death. Instead it remained active. Is this the way it is usually handled or should they have frozen the account?