If you have lost track of your old 401(k) plans and want to find out where it is, it can be difficult as there is no national clearing house for all 401(k) plan information, so some serious detective work may be needed. It’s important that whenever you move to notify the administrator of your old 401(k), as well as your former employer so you don’t run into this problem. Remember your account assets are with the plan administrator, not your old employer, so the goal here is to find out who that is. Here are suggestions of things to try:
1. 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. They can 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.
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