The company that I work for was purchased by a publicly held corporation. At the time of purchase they froze the 401K account from any additional investing that had existed with the prior company. All employees were able to invest into the new corporations existing 401K immediately. I have been told by our new HR that the money in the old 401K cannot be rolled over or removed under any circumstances. I was recently informed by an unbiased source that since the account is frozen or essentially dead, the employees are free to rollover the funds if desired. Does anyone have any accurate information on this?

ebaines

I could see where the old 401(k) acount may be frozen for a short period of time while the administrator cleaned up records for the transition to the new plan, but no way should the old plan be frozen for more than a couple of weeks at most. You should be able to roll the amounts from your old plan into an IRA with no hassle. I suggest that you contact the plan administrator for clarification - not your HR person.

ScottGem

I agree with ebaines. If the new company is terminating the old plan by switching all employees over to the their plan, then IRS rules require that the funds be eligible for rollover, either into the new plan or into personal IRAs.

I would suggest that you tell this HR person to check with the IRS before the company is sued for violating IRS rules.