How to find an old 401(k) from a former job

The plan administrator is the person or company that runs the plan, and DOL calls it the best starting point for questions. Old paperwork usually tells you who that is. DOL says participant-directed 401(k) plans must send benefit statements at least quarterly, and every plan must have a Summary Plan Description, the plain-language booklet you should have received when you joined.

Look for:

Call or write to your former employer's HR or benefits office and ask for the current plan administrator. DOL says your employer can tell you how to reach the administrator, and the administrator can tell you whether you still have a balance and how to file a claim.

Plans must have a written claims procedure, and DOL says a plan can take up to 90 days to decide on a claim, or 180 days if it tells you it needs an extension. If the plan denies your claim, it must explain why in writing and tell you how to appeal.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database was created under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. It finds retirement plans linked to your Social Security number that were sponsored by private-sector employers and unions, including 401(k) plans and traditional pensions. To use it:

Most private retirement plans file an annual report with the government called Form 5500. You can search filings on the Department of Labor's EFAST Form 5500 search by plan name, plan sponsor name or Employer Identification Number (EIN).

Each result is a filing for one plan year, and you can download it as a ZIP file that contains the PDF. That helps you confirm the exact plan name, sponsor and EIN, which makes a call to the employer, the plan or EBSA much easier. If your plan filed as part of a group arrangement, the EFAST search help explains how to find its Schedule DCG inside the group filing.

DOL says plans may cash out small accounts after you leave. If your balance was small enough, the plan can make a distribution without your consent. If that payout is more than $1,000, the plan must roll it into an IRA it selects, unless you chose a lump sum or an IRA of your own, and it must send you a notice first.

DOL's rules for these automatic rollover IRAs say the investments must be designed to preserve principal, and the IRA provider can't charge more than it charges its other IRA customers. Ask the plan administrator whether your balance was paid out or rolled over, and if so, the name of the IRA provider and the date.

When a plan is terminated and the plan can't find a participant, DOL guidance says rolling the money into an IRA is the preferred option. If the plan can't find an IRA provider or has another compelling reason, it may instead open a federally insured bank account in your name or transfer the balance to the unclaimed property fund in the state of your last known home or work location. DOL notes that these transfers generally are taxable.

Search the official program in every state you have lived or worked in. NAUPA's state map links to each state's free search. Our guide to finding unclaimed money walks through searching and claiming without paying a finder.

DOL says bankruptcies, mergers and acquisitions sometimes leave a 401(k) plan with no one in charge. The bank, insurer or fund company holding the money can't distribute it on its own, so DOL created a voluntary process for the custodian to wind up the plan and pay out benefits.

If you think your plan was abandoned, use the search on the EBSA website to see whether a custodian is terminating it and how to reach them, or ask an EBSA Benefits Advisor at askebsa.dol.gov or 1-866-444-3272. DOL says Benefits Advisors can help you find the employer or union, though they can't search the Lost and Found Database for you.

The IRS lists four general options for money left in a former employer's plan, other than a traditional pension: