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Posted by cpabakem01 on November 15, 2007, 3:01 pm
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> I know this is slightly off-topic, but thought I would try
> the expertise that resides in this group anyway!
>
> I deal with a few 401k / pension plans at my job and over
> the years, we have lost contact with some participants in
> the plans. One plan is probably 30 years old and there are
> a few individuals that we've not had contact with in that
> plan for well over 10 years.
>
> I tried searching some various websites just to test the
> waters and see if I could find some recent participants that
> cannot be located and had very little success. These were
> free sites that I searched. I know there are sites that
> charge so much per search or so much for a limited amount of
> time, but felt that seemed quite pricey to search for 30-40
> people either individually or over a limited length of time.
>
> Has anyone had a great amount of success with any particular
> 'search' site in finding people in this situation? I don't
> really want to pay $50-$60 per search, particularly when a
> lot of the recent 'lost' participants' accounts only have a
> few hundred dollars in their accounts.
>
> One plan will be terminating in the near future and so we
> are trying to find these individuals so we can get their
> account balances paid out to them or transferred to another
> plan for their benefit. My understanding is the state of
> Kansas (where I am located and the plans are located) do not
> want these funds to put in the unclaimed property division
> any longer. If we can't locate these individuals, an option
> that has been presented to us is to set up an account to
> accept this money (keeping it completely segregated) and
> keep looking for them. If we find an individual or they
> find us, then we can pay them a proportionate amount of
> money from this account to them at that time.
Only thing I can find. Hope it helps
Milt Baker CPA
___________
Can't Find A Plan Participant?
Many employers discover that finding missing participants
can be next to impossible.
However, plan sponsors are required to take all reasonable
means to locate a participant. One option available to a
sponsor is the IRS's Letter Forwarding Program.
IRS Policy Statement P-1-187 provides information on the use
of the letter-forwarding program. The program is available
to individuals, companies and federal agencies that are
trying to locate missing individuals. It may be especially
useful to plan sponsors or administrators who are attempting
to locate missing participants.
Requests Involving Fewer Than 50 Missing Participants The
IRS's Disclosure Office can forward letters from plan
administrators to missing individuals if the administrator
provides the following information:
STEP ONE: Prepare a cover letter directed to the IRS
Disclosure Officefor the local area where the requester is
located. This cover letter should: state why the IRS'
assistance is being sought, list the name(s), social
security number(s),* and (if available) last known
address(es) of the individual(s) who cannot be located,
include the name and address of the person or organization
to whom the IRS should send an acknowledgement letter
(limited only to acknowledgement of receipt of the sender's
correspondence and an indication of whether or not the
matter has been accepted into the letter forwarding
program).
* The correct social security number (SSN) for a missing
individual is mandatory; The IRS will not attempt to locate
an individual without this information. When a SSN is
furnished, we will search our records to determined if we
have an address.
STEP TWO: With your cover letter, include a letter (three
pages or less) directed to the individual(s) who cannot be
located. This letter should: advise the recipient of the
reason for the letter, include instructions as to what the
recipient should do to contact the sender, if he or she
decides to respond, make clear that response to the sender's
letter is completely voluntary on the part of the recipient,
and include the following disclaimer statement, "In
accordance with current policy, the IRS has agreed to
forward this letter because we do not have your current
address. The IRS has not disclosed your address or any other
tax information and has no involvement in the matter aside
from forwarding this letter. Your response to this letter is
completely voluntary."
Upon receipt of a valid request, the IRS Disclosure Office
will search its records under the social security number
provided and, if an address is found, forward the letter
using an IRS envelope. If an address cannot be found or the
letter is returned by the Postal Service as undeliverable,
the letter will be destroyed. The requester will not be
notified of this action. The law does not allow the IRS to
provide the sender of such letter with the results of its
efforts.
For requests involving less than 50 recipients there is no
charge. Each request should be sent to the attention of the
Disclosure Officer at the IRS's district office nearest the
requester (It does not matter where the recipient last
resided.). To find the office nearest you, click here.
Requests Involving 50 or More Missing Participants
Requests involving 50 or more potential recipients,
including multiple requests from a single entity that can be
expected to total at least 50 recipients, are processed
separately from the free program. There is a charge for this
service. Customers who want to use this program should call
the Disclosure Office in Washington, DC at 202.622.3324 for
additional information or click here. The mailing address
for this service is:
Internal Revenue IRS
Director, Office of Governmental Liaison & Disclosure
CL:GLD, Room 1603
ATTN: Disclosure Officer
1111 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20224
How quickly they are able to response to your request is
based on overall workload of the Disclosure Officer.
Another Option
Another option is The National Registry. This is a website
where plan sponsors, plan administrator, custodians, or
other plan service providers can register the names of
missing plan participants who have unclaimed retirement
funds. Individuals who think they may have old 401k accounts
simply enter their social security number and the database
is searched for any nationwide matches. If there are any
matches, the person shown who the employer(s) is that has
retirement money and is also asked to provide your current
contact information so that this employer may contact them
and make arrangements for distribution.
You can find out more at www.unclaimedretirementbenefits.com.
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<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
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