I had a 401k at another job I was out of work 4 about a year when I got my new job got full time I tried 2 roll my 401k over 2 my new retirement plan now its been about 5 years guardian corporation the 1 I was through said the state took it is there any way I can get it back there was a lot of money invested in it:confused:

I'm confused, you were out of work for only a year or for 5 years. Your company shouldn't have forwarded the funds to the state in such a short time as a year.

However, most states have escheat laws. These laws state that unclaimed property gets turned over to the state after a period. You may have seen listings in a local paper from banks or insurance companies listing unclaimed funds. This is in preparation of turning them over to the state. I've never heard of this happening to a 401K though.

But if that's what happened, just contact your state's escheat department (start with the state Treasury dept). And you should get your money back, though it may not have earned any income from the time it was turned over to the state.

In most states (perhaps all?) financial institutions are required to turn any "lost" assets over to the state for safe-keeping. Perhaps you didn't notify the administrator of your old 401(k) account of a change of address, so they turned the money over once they couldn't locate you. Do a Google search on "unclaimed assets" and your state name, and you should be directed to a web site that will help you. Most states have a web search feature that lets you see if there are any lost assets in your name. You will then have to submit a claim form to get it back. One caveat - since this money is for your 401(k), as soon as you get the money from the state you must immediately roll all of it to a roll-over IRA to avoid tax penalties.