Fired, how long before received 401k?

[Guest thestudent]

My uncle was fired from a government job of 20 years. He was told that in order to receive his 401k, he had to have his 2 previous wives to complete a document acknowledging he owes no child support nor alimony. Unfortunately, neither wives are in a hurry to sign the paperwork.

How long would the government wait to send his 401k? It would benefit the ex-wives if he owed them money, so I would not think the government would continue to wait.

[david rigby]

Though possible, the plan may not be a 401(k). But that is irrelevant to your Q.

Usually, the terms of the plan document will describe the timing and conditions for a distribution. The laws and regulations that would apply to a governmental plan are those of the state and/or local government. A plan participant should review the employee communication material that describes the plan, which was probably previously provided to that employee.

Likely, there are more relevant facts than have been presented.

[QDROphile]

I am somewhat skeptical about your descriptions. Among other things, it is unlikely that the plan is a 401(k) plan, but that is not a terribly important point within your question. The one, and perhaps only, rational explanation I can offer is that the plan is trying to ascertain if the former spouses are about to file, or are in the process of of obtaining, a "domestic relations order" that would award part of the retirement benefit to the former spouses or dependent children. From the plan's perspective, it would be better to clean up the competing interests in the retirement benefit before starting distributions. The plan's actions seem overly agressive, but government plans often march to a different beat. As for when the distribution will be made, it depends on the terms of the plan and applicable policies and the bureaucracy. The plan terms may be in a plan document or may be in statutes and regualtions, but there should be some kind of summary or other information available to explain things to particpants. Often there is a particulatr portion or document that explains the special considerations involving potential interests of former spouses and how they are resolved. Also, there should be someone to talk to about what the plan requires and the status of processing, but usually the plan staff is overworked and sometimes the plan staff is confused.

Your perspective on the ex-wives is probably wrong. Most of the time the former spouse will want money directly from the plan because that is a more reliable source of payment and a way to avoid unhappy contacts.

[RCK]

You might have him check with his contact at the plan to see if they will settle for a copy of each divorce decree, showing that neither spouse is entitled to a portion of his government benefit. As long as they are not REALLY rigid, that might do it.

RCK