No Payout

I had a pension from many years ago. The company was bought and sold a few times.  When I tried to collect it in 2023, I was told that I received a payout (under $5000) in May of 2001.  I never received said payout.  I obtained my 2001 tax transcript from the IRS and my wage statement from my employer of that year.  Clearly shows a 1099R was never issued and the only income I received that year was from my W2.  Pension administrator has never been able to show any documentation that the payout actually occurred.  We are in appeal now.  Just wondering if anyone else has had a situation similar to mine and what the out come was. 

Thanks

Not saying that this is true in your case but if a participant claims they never received a distribution to which they were entitled, my experience has been that they had and forgot.  We produce the relevant paperwork showing the distribution happened. 

Yeah, that is my experience also.  However, I recently encountered a situation (termination of employment in the mid 90's) that pointed in that direction; the plan sponsor kept digging and found a letter that proved the opposite.  So, the lesson is: don't jump to conclusions too easily and keep your documentation.

Back in 2001, it was common for plans to have automatic rollovers to an IRA for benefits between $1,000 and $5,000. I would check to see if the money was put in an IRA for you. The Summary Plan Description or Plan Document from back then should state the automatic rollover provision, but they usually don't specify the exact IRA company. It was common for the automatic rollovers to be with the same company as the 401)k) plan. So, if your prior employer had Fidelity as the 401(k) vendor, they could have rolled it over to an IRA with Fidelity. Good Luck!