You might be at a point in life where you’ve had a few jobs in a few different places — and you might be pleasantly surprised to find out that you have retirement funds you didn’t even know about!
It’s not uncommon, as you move from job to job, to simply forget to move or update information for an employee sponsored retirement account. Or, maybe you forgot about a bank account, or a federal or state refund didn’t make it to you years ago. The most common times for this to happen is when you left a job suddenly, moved residences or changed your name. (This is something you should do if you are the executor of someone’s estate, too!)
How do you find those 401(k), IRA or pension accounts or other "unclaimed property" if it might be years or even decades old?
For your retirement accounts, the easiest way to do this, and the most straightforward, is to contact the Human Resources or Benefits department of every company you used to work for. Ask them if you ever participated in a retirement plan there. If so, ask who the plan administrator was and if they can provide you with an account number. They might ask you for an ID or other identifying information to make sure you really are you.
If the company merged or was bought out, there’s still a good chance that the company has those records. If the company closed, you have a few options to look up the information.
Use the Government’s “Lost Account” Tools Every company that offers a retirement plan must file a Form 5500. You can look up old employers’ retirement plans here through www.efast.dol.gov. You can search by the name of your employer to find out if a plan existed and other useful information.
You can also check the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits, which is a free database. Go to www.unclaimedretirementbenefits.com.
If you might have a pension, search the unclaimed pension database at www.pbgc.gov/search/unclaimed-pensions.
Search Your State’s Unclaimed Property Database Just like the federal government, your state has an "unclaimed property" database. You should search up the state name and "unclaimed property" and then search for your name in every state you ever lived in or owned property in, and you might be pleasantly surprised to find a few hundred dollars from a forgotten account. To claim that property, you may need to send the state a copy of your ID along with other proof of ownership.
Ask for Info from the IRS The IRS won’t tell you your account balances, but you can request a Wage and Income Transcript to see if any old employer reported a retirement contribution. You can request your transcript at www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript.
Happy Hunting! We hope you get the fun surprise of finding money you didn’t know you have! Deposit those unclaimed funds in your CommonWealth One account, or come talk to us about what to do with those old retirement investments — we’re happy to guide you.
