IRA accounts for Missing Participants

[Guest rgorman]

I have a terminated plan that wants to distribute all assets by 12/31/06. We have two terminated participants that are missing that we need to setup IRA accounts for. This was a pooled account with a provider that will not set up the IRAs.

I can not find anywhere that will set up the IRA accounts due to NASD compliance requirements.

Has anyone dealt with a company that will set them up?

[Guest mjb]

Why are you wasting your time with this? Plan should be amended to forefit benefits of missing participants and use their account balances to pay plan expenses or be divided among remaining particpants. Your problem is an excellent illustration as to why all plans should have a provision permitted by IRS regs that allows forefeiture of benefits of missing participants if they cannot be located at the time benefits are payable.

[Guest Pensions in Paradise]

Ignore the comments from the ivory tower. In the real world people have to deal with missing participants.

You may want to contact PenChecks. They can set up missing participant IRAs for you. Although I'm not sure they can do it by December 31. (Note - I am not affiliated with PenChecks, although I have worked with them in the past.)

[Guest mjb]

If you can get the transfer completed in the 4 business days left in 2006 then open the IRAs but if not then forfeit their interest.