I worked at a company over twenty years ago and I had a 401K there, but I was laid off and the company eventually folded. Is there a way I can find out whether those funds are still floating around or are they lost forever? I am currently unemployed and could use the money, provided it's there in the ether somewhere. They took it out of my paycheck and I've never heard anything else about the money except for a statement they sent about a year later that I no longer possess.

Your 401(k) is out there somewhere - it has not simply vanished. The account is held by an investment house such as Fidelity, or a bank, or insurance company. It was not held by your former employer, so the fact that they folded did not affect your account. Apparently you moved and didn't provide them a forwarding address. So now you need to determine which investment company managed the 401(k) account. If you kept any of your old papers - annual statements, a copy of he enrollment form you signed, etc - the name of that firm would be on there. If you have no records and just can't remember who that is, I suggest you contact your former boss, or a colleague, and ask them. If you have no such personal contacts, there are some resurces for finding old accounts that have been considered abandoned; see: How do I find / locate an old 401(k)? - 401khelpcenter.com (http://www.401khelpcenter.com/faq/faq_39.html#.VFd5sefd7sw). Finally, I suggest that you check the list of unclaimed accounts that is maintained by the state where this account was located - see: https://www.unclaimed.org/