05 Oct I lost my job but I’m missing employer 401(k) contributions. What to do?

Q. I was terminated from a job in January 2022 and told to wait a couple of weeks for employer 401(k) contributions to be sent. They never were. I needed to roll over my account before fees. I’ve finally rolled into an IRA, but now the employer hasn’t signed the papers. John Hancock has notified the company with four emails and they haven’t replied. What does one do?
— Worker

A. That’s a tough situation.

Of course you want to make sure you get all the employer contributions you have earned over time.

Participants are allowed to withdraw or roll over their vested 401(k) balance after termination, just as they would if still employed at plan retirement age or as a beneficiary upon a death, said Daniel Cocco, a partner with Beacon Wealth Partners in Nutley.

When exactly they are allowed to do so is based on the plan document itself, he said.

“The Summary Plan Document (SPD) or full Plan Document would outline clearly the conditions for withdrawal,” he said. “Some plans may require that the terminated employee wait for matching or profit sharing contributions to be added and/or follow plan processing times.”

Once the conditions are met and a paperwork request is sent, it should not take too long to complete the transaction but again remember to check the plan documents which are often posted online, he said.

“John Hancock, as the recordkeeper in this scenario, only processes the completed paperwork signed by the employer but you could call them to check if there is a Third Party Administrator (TPA) assigned to the plan who could help to explain the processing times for a specific plan and communicate outstanding requests to the former employer directly on behalf of the participant,” Cocco said.

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This story was originally published on Oct. 5, 2022.

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