401 (k) Plan Participant Claim

[DPSRich]

Participant contacts the DOL stating that they deferred more than the Employer has credited.  DOL starts an inquiry, which is handled by the accountant.

Accountant claims that DOL has finished the inquiry.  DOL has not sent out any correspondence accepting what accountant submitted.

Accountant claims that DOL only sends out correspondence when there is an audit, NOT when a Participant makes a claim.

Is accountant correct?

[WCC]

Not sure, but you can call the DOL regional office and they are usually quite helpful. They can probably tell you the process of how they handle a claim and what procedures they follow. The San Francisco office is helpful with general inquires. 

[MoJo]

The accountant is correct.  Participant complaints are handled by a DOL "benefits consultant" and they are simply there to try and resolve disputes without going into a full blown audit (which they will do if the inquiry leads them to believe that an auditable issue exists - but then they pass it off to an investigator).  The process is pretty informal.  If the information provided by the accountant provides the answer, the benefits consultant will relay that to the participant and that pretty much ends it.

I've seen this work from both sides (as a participant who turned in a former employer) and as a service provider who's employees contacted the DOL.  Unless the matter is turned over to an "investigator" it's probably resolved....

[DPSRich]

Thank you both for your replies.

MoJo, extremely Helpful.

 

Enjoy the weekend DPSRich