Enrolled against will

I was automatically enrolled in a 401k by my employer without my consent, and after I filed a form to opt-out of their automatic enrollment program. What can I do to get the money they deducted from paychecks returned?

What have you done already? It starts by contacting the plan administrator to report the error and request correction. If you have done that and not gotten a satisfactory response (action, direction, or explanation), then it gets more interesting.

I expect most of the contributors to this site would encourage you to allow enrollment to take effect. People in the business tend to value retirement savings, even though it may be difficult to part with some pay now.

I must say in the interest of your long-term financial wellness it is worth participating at some level now.  The longer you are in a plan, the easier it is to achieve your financial goals.

This is a personal decision, and if you truly do not need to save any more for retirement, then congratulations because you are better off than most.  If you currently cannot afford to support a deduction from your paycheck of even a modest amount, then you do have ways to address your situation.

Do you have documentation of the election that you filed?  For example, do you have a copy of a signed form, or an email/printout of a confirmation of the election from the plan's recordkeeping system?  This would go a long way to supporting your position.  Hopefully, the documentation shows you made the election in a timely manner to allow time for the election to be provided to and processed by payroll before the payroll check date.

If you have this documentation, then the money that was deducted in a plan operational error and the funds should be distributed to you as an Excess Amount. 

You also should have received a notice about the automatic contributions the would include how to opt out.  Also check the Summary Plan Description to see if the plan is an Eligible Automatic Contribution Arrangement (EACA).  If yes, then check to see if you can have the amounts already contributed paid out to you.

Please note that the government recently adopted new rules that increase the affordability of participating in a 401(k) plan.  Some of these features may not be available until next year or the year after that, but stay informed and take advantage of these features as they do become available.  Otherwise, you could be leaving money on the table.

Start with your HR department and ask if they will get the money back for you.  Did you keep a copy of the opt out form?  If so, send them a copy. 

If you met the deadlines to opt out timely they might be able to help.

Start by reading your SPD, some plans have a 90 day window to get a distribution if you were auto enrolled and didn't want to be. If your plan does have this provision, taking advantage of that and confirming they have processed your optout form for future payrolls might be the path of least resistance.

If that doesn't work, do what ESOP guy said.

Maybe adding to tell HR that you want it all returned -a mistake of fact, that you didn’t want to participate in the first place.  I think a refund can be done.  If they refuse then tell them you want this to be considered formally as a claim for benefits which according to your summary plan description forces the plan sponsor to do certain things like formally document the reasons, showing you where in the plan it says they can’t do what you ask. And that response is the final word; they are the final authority, unless you want to sue over this.  But you at least got it documented.

good luck!

If you don't receive satisfaction in any other way, there is a claims procedure in your Summary Plan Description that you can file.  It'll be pokey but you will get a reply.