401k Plan terminated

I received a "Potential Private Retirement Benefit Information" letter from the SSA.  My ex-employer, was bought out and the plan was terminated back in 2010.

I never received a distribution or notification.  I contacted the company listed on form 5500, they administered the plan after the buy out.

They told me they have no idea what happened to any funds not distributed from the plan.  

Do I have any recourse with this matter?

Thanks,

Keith

The onus will be on them to show they paid you but it may be difficult to track down the responsible party for a plan terminated in 2010.

It's possible you were paid from the original plan and you forgot but they never removed you from the SSA rolls, or they did remove you but SSA didn't update.

It's possible you were paid from the acquiring plan and the same thing happened.

It's possible you were a lost participant at the time of termination and your benefit was sent to an IRA in your name when the Plan was terminated, if that's the case the Plan should have records as to where the funds were sent and you could take it up with that custodian.

The above is all just speculation on my part and may or may not reflect what happened in your particular case. At this point you are looking for records that are at least 13 years old on a terminated retirement plan where all the assets have presumably long since been paid out.

This is a great example of why you shouldn't leave funds at your prior companies retirement plan if you can help it or if you do, make sure you keep tabs on the balance in the Plan.

kcarter430, as you may have surmised from Lou S.'s comments, the information used by the SSA is collected and maintained by processes that are not very controlled.  If you know or think you have a benefit due, the place to start is with your own records.  Some facts or documents you should gather include:

• Termination date from the company with the plan in which you participated (to set your time frame).
• Any participant statement reporting to you your account balance or accrued benefits in that plan before or after your termination date.

If the amounts are significant to you or you are just curious, then you may decide to keep going.  Otherwise, there is a high probability that the cost to you in time and effort is not worth pursuing this further.

Next:

• Review any bank statements you may have for a few years starting from your termination date and going forward, looking for deposits that you do not recognize.
• Review any tax returns you may have for a few years starting from your termination day and going forward, looking for amounts reported on a Form 1099R or on the pension income line on the tax return.

If you find deposits or reported pension income, then very likely you were paid and can put the issue to rest.

Moving forward, here are some avenues to pursue:

1. Look up the final Form 5500 filing for your plan here https://www.efast.dol.gov/5500search/ You should be able to find the filing for 2010 or possibly 2011.  If the plan was subject to a plan audit, the audit report will be included in the download.  The audit report may reveal information about the plan termination including if the account balances were rolled into the acquiring company or sent to an IRA provider.  Make contact with these organizations and explain what you have done that led you to them.  (They may or may not make an attempt to help.)
2. Contact the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits at https://unclaimedretirementbenefits.com/ - they exist to help people find money and it's free.
3. Contact the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation at https://www.pbgc.gov/wr/find-unclaimed-retirement-benefits - they will search their records of terminated plans that sent them unclaimed benefits.  They also have tips for people finding unclaimed benefits.
4. Contact the Administration for Community Living at https://acl.gov/programs/retirement-planning-support/pension-counseling-and-information-program - this is a government funded group with a mission "AoA’s Pension Counseling and Information Program promotes the financial security of older individuals and enhances their independence by empowering them to make wise decisions with respect to pensions and savings plans. The program assists older Americans in accessing information about their retirement benefits and helps them to negotiate with former employers or pension plans for due compensation."

May you have good luck and good fortune!

21 hours ago, Lou S. said:

The onus will be on them to show they paid you

Lou S, I agree with everything else you said, but I don't think this is true.

kcarter430, the communication says that you had a benefit in the plan. The way the system works is this - a plan "has to" (it isn't always done) report to the Social Security Administration if you leave a vested benefit behind after you terminate. There is a corresponding way to delete that notification if you are subsequently paid, but that isn't always done and I'm not sure the system works 100% when it is done, so receiving the notice is not definitive proof that you have a benefit in the plan. The idea is that SSA can provide this info when you go to claim SS as something that might be out there.

As Paul I notes, you may have been paid a small amount in cash, or your account may have been rolled into an IRA that you know nothing about. There is a slim chance that they improperly forfeited (took away) the money. 

It's worth trying to follow up through the methods noted by Lou S and Paul I, and through the plan itself (to the extent you can follow that trail since it was terminated.)

If they opened up an IRA, the custodian may have escheated the funds given how long ago this occurred. Might worth a shot to check your state’s registry. Good luck!