You’ve probably changed jobs several times since you started your career. Perhaps your former workplace shut down, or you’ve intentionally moved on from a challenging work environment.

Now, you might be finding it nearly impossible to track down a forgotten pension or 401(k). This issue is particularly pressing for many individuals in their 60s or younger.

Who should you contact if you suspect you had funds in a 401(k) many years ago? Or if you believed you had a pension plan?

According to estimates, approximately 29 million 401(k) accounts were left unclaimed in 2023, resulting in nearly $1.65 trillion in uncollected retirement benefits across the nation, as reported by Capitalize. This platform helps individuals transfer their old 401(k) assets into an IRA. Founded in 2020, Capitalize’s findings are derived from data from the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, along with academic studies and insights from policy experts.

The significance of lost retirement money led to the creation of a federal Retirement Savings Lost and Found database, mandated by the SECURE 2.0 Act, which was endorsed by President Joe Biden in late 2022 as part of a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill.

This database is expected to be launched by the end of December 2024, allowing retirement savers to find the contact details of their plan administrators to claim any benefits they may have lost track of.

However, gathering this information and addressing cybersecurity concerns isn’t straightforward.

Initially, it was believed that critical data could come from the IRS, but the IRS cited disclosure regulations that would prevent it from providing data to the Department of Labor for contacting participants about their retirement plans. This was communicated in an April notice by the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration is currently working on constructing the database and gathering the required information, partnering with the IRS, the Treasury, the Social Security Administration, and also collecting data voluntarily from plan administrators and record keepers.

Although some resources are already available for locating lost 401(k) accounts or retirement plans, you will need to put in some effort and explore various avenues to reclaim your funds.

The first steps involve reaching out to your previous employers and searching for old financial statements or documents that could provide details about your plan. If the business is still operational, try contacting the plan administrator directly.

There are additional actions you may consider as well.

What to Do If You Receive a Letter from Social Security

Occasionally, you may receive a notification from the Social Security office regarding potential private retirement benefits, and it is important not to ignore this notice.

When an individual leaves a job with a vested retirement benefit, the employer must inform the IRS. This information is subsequently passed on to the Social Security Administration.

When a claim for Social Security benefits is filed, Social Security often sends a notice indicating that you might be eligible for a private benefit, as explained by Joe Rivers, regional director for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration in Cincinnati.

This notice generally pertains to traditional pension plans but can also relate to 401(k) plans. A person might have several retirement plans associated with different employers and receive multiple notices.

Recipients should then reach out to the Employee Benefits Security Administration for help in determining how to locate or claim those funds.

Sometimes, individuals may have worked for multiple employers, leading to small amounts scattered across different plans that they may have forgotten about.

Receiving this notice is simply a reminder that you may have a benefit available, says Rivers. You might either have a claimable benefit or you may not.

For instance, someone who withdrew their 401(k) funds upon leaving a company may not have any additional money to claim.

In other scenarios, a person may shift from an hourly position to a salaried position after a promotion, possibly forgetting about the funds left in the hourly plan.

From fiscal year 2019 through June 25, the Employee Benefits Security Administration assisted 759 individuals in Michigan who received such notices from Social Security, helping them recover approximately $47.4 million. Across the nation, 3,315 individuals were helped to collect a total of $186.9 million during the fiscal year 2024.

“There are substantial amounts of money that remain unclaimed

“It’s possible that there are funds people haven’t claimed or might have overlooked,” said Rivers.

Your retirement funds could be in an ‘abandoned plan’

The U.S. Department of Labor runs an “abandoned plan search” program designed to help individuals determine if a retirement plan has been discontinued due to a business bankruptcy or merger. This initiative was launched in 2006.

The abandoned plan program assists individuals in discovering if their former employer has a discontinued plan that could yield benefits. For instance, in Michigan, between fiscal year 2018 and September 30, 2022, the Employee Benefits Security Administration addressed 148 such plans, resulting in nearly $7.9 million in benefits disbursed to workers.

A retirement plan might become abandoned if the employer that sponsored it ceases to exist after a bankruptcy. Additionally, the plan sponsor may have faced incarceration, died, or left the country.

If you encounter issues, you can reach out to the Employee Benefits Security Administration at 866-444-3272. Callers will be directed to the appropriate regional office based on their state.

You can also search for “Ask EBSA” on Google to access the Department of Labor’s website directly. Alternatively, you can send an inquiry through their site at askebsa.dol.gov, where assistance in navigating the system is available.

Rivers noted that answers can sometimes be complicated, especially after multiple mergers and acquisitions, but employees can be guided to find the correct plan.

“We often can connect individuals with the right plan administrator,” Rivers stated. “Our involvement can sometimes yield more information than if a regular person, like John Q. Public, made the call. We typically don’t accept ‘no’ for an answer, and if that is the case, we require justification.”

In certain instances, the response may not be satisfactory to the individual.

For example, one woman who left her job in 1992 recalled receiving some funds but believed she was entitled to more from another plan with the same employer. Eventually, the Employee Benefits Security Administration collaborated with her to clarify that she had already received that amount, which her longtime accountant was able to trace.

“She didn’t gain any additional funds,” Rivers explained, “but she did receive clarity. And often, that is considered a success in itself.”

Many Americans are searching for retirement funds

It is noteworthy that locating retirement funds can be particularly challenging in industries with high employee turnover rates. Smaller employer plans may face similar difficulties, as they often lack the resources to communicate effectively with former employees when a business closes its doors.

“Imagine a small donut shop where the owner passes away. The spouse takes over, and then she dies just six months later,” Rivers described. “Suddenly, an abandoned 401(k) plan exists, leaving several people unable to access their account balances because no fiduciary is still alive.”

Such scenarios are common across the nation, according to Rivers. Often, one person at a small firm may juggle numerous roles, from managing finances to assisting with deliveries, leading to confusion regarding retirement benefits when that knowledgeable individual departs.

The Pension Rights Center, a nonprofit consumer organization, provides resources for individuals attempting to locate lost pensions.

The Pension Rights Center also assists individuals in tracking down missing pensions. Visit www.pensionrights.org or call 202-296-3776 for help. Another useful site is www.pensionhelp.org.

Searching for unclaimed property

Currently, there is no legal obligation for retirement or 401(k) plan providers to report abandoned plans to state authorities. Thus, you may discover unclaimed pension money in your state’s unclaimed property database – or perhaps not.

This year, a collective of congressional members and state treasurers encouraged the Department of Labor to establish a “standard, nationwide policy that enables state unclaimed property programs to assist individuals in retrieving their lost retirement checks.”

State treasurers and officials managing unclaimed property programs aim to create the States’ Unclaimed Retirement Clearing House program.

“As more Americans retire, the issue of uncashed retirement plan distributions has intensified,” stated a letter from the National Association of State Treasurers sent to Julie Su, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor in August.

“Unclaimed retirement funds are growing at an estimated rate of over $100 million each year, and under existing regulations, these funds are unlikely to return to their rightful owners.”

Supporters of this change argue that regulatory uncertainty causes countless accounts to remain unclaimed.

Organize your documents

While you’re employed, consider compiling a dedicated folder with information about your pensions and 401(k) plans. Save statements that could assist you in tracking down funds later in life.

Keep any letters from your employer confirming you earned vested benefits from a defined benefit plan. Retain some of your pay stubs and W-2 forms. Also, keep a list of your union’s name and local number if union membership was necessary for participating in the pension plan.

Make a note of important details like your approximate hiring date and when your employment ended.

How to search the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation database

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has been in the spotlight lately due to some significant pension plan bailouts. A special financial assistance initiative was introduced as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan of 2021, signed by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021.

On October 23, the PBGC approved a $23.6 million pension bailout for the Midwestern Teamsters Pension Plan in Oak Brook, Illinois, which serves 615 participants within the transportation sector. Without this assistance, the pension was projected to become insolvent by 2032.

If a bailout happens, individuals interested in claiming retirement benefits should reach out to their plan administrators regarding their pension plans.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) provides an online database for tracking down unclaimed pension benefits at www.pbgc.gov. Users can initiate a search by entering their last name and the last four digits of their Social Security number. However, the PBGC does not maintain records for people in multiemployer plans.

The PBGC also offers advice on locating unclaimed retirement benefits more broadly. In the event a company declares bankruptcy, it’s essential to find out if the PBGC will get involved, especially if the company had a pension plan.