Guest TuckerB Posted February 12, 2009 Posted February 12, 2009 A pension fund is attempting to locate a missing participant. In the meantime, it is unsure as to what to do with the returned pension checks. Should the paper checks be placed in the participant's file? Or, should the money be placed back in the trust? Thanks.
david rigby Posted February 12, 2009 Posted February 12, 2009 Keep careful records. Money back in the trust. BTW, consider that this person may not be "missing", but could be deceased. I'm a retirement actuary. Nothing about my comments is intended or should be construed as investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Occasionally, but not all the time, it might be reasonable to interpret my comments as actuarial or consulting advice.
mschwechter Posted February 12, 2009 Posted February 12, 2009 Keep careful records. Money back in the trust. BTW, consider that this person may not be "missing", but could be deceased. If you think this is the case, you can always search death records here: http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
Guest Kabert Posted February 18, 2009 Posted February 18, 2009 The department of labor has issued guidance on locating lost/missing participants and related fiduciary duties. If you haven't seen that, you can locate it on DOL's website. I agree that the money should be kept in the trust. Track down the participant through participant search methods (private pension plan participant search companies and the SSA letter forwarding service, for example). If that doesn't work, then either hang on to the money or, if the plan is terminating, send the funds through the state escheat process to the state's unclaimed property fund.
Guest Mr. Kite Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 An attorney in my firm had a bank come in with a missing participant problem. Following a series of mergers and acquisitions, the bank found itself with a number of whiskered trust accounts with remaining balances because the distribution checks were never cashed. By the time these accounts came to the bank, there were no records of who the accounts belonged to or who the checks were written to -- all they had were the check numbers and the amount of the checks. No indication of whether or not any or all of the accounts involved qualified trusts. Escheat doesn't appear to be an option under the DOL rules, but at the same time most of the accounts are so small that they would be swallowed up by distribution fees. I don't know if she ever resolved this matter.
david rigby Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Discussion here about IRS and SSA letter forwarding programs. http://benefitslink.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=40445 I'm a retirement actuary. Nothing about my comments is intended or should be construed as investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Occasionally, but not all the time, it might be reasonable to interpret my comments as actuarial or consulting advice.
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