ebaines

Trying to locate the whereabouts of an old forgotten 401(k) can be daunting. Basically, you need to determine who the plan administrator is, and then contact them to see what the status of your account is and for you to give them your proper mailing address. Some suggestions on how to find the plan admin:

1. First suggestion is to look through your old financial records and try and dig up any old statements the plan administrator sent you. The administrator should be sending a statement to you at least quarterly - it should have contact information.
2. Contact the HR department of your old employer. Ask them to check their plan records to see if you ever participated in their 401k plan, and to give you the name and contact phone number of the plan administrator.
3. Contact your former boss or other employees you worked with and ask if they know who the administrative firm is.
4. The final suggestion is go online and search for abandoned property in the state you lived in at the time. If you have not been receiving statements from the 401(k) plan administrator they may now consider you lost, and by law they would have turned your assets over to the state. Every state has a program to try to reunite people with their lost assets. Here is a free web site that lets you search your state’s database of abandoned assets: Missing Money Free Search for Unclaimed Property - Officially endorsed By The States. It’s a good idea to do a search on every state you ever lived in to see if there are abandoned assets in your name.

Good luck!