Dh has been trying to rollover 401K for close to 2yrs...

[Emmeline II]

Dh left an employer where he had a 401K. The custodian has repeatedly said "the check/document" is in the mail; when we do get a new check, it expires because they have not returned the rollover form for the new custodian. The custodian says "we Fedex'd it yesterday", dh asks for the tracking number, "we don't do tracking numbers" , dh asks for it certified mail "oh, we don't do that" .  What do you do when a 401K custodian won't give you what is necessary to roll it over?

[mattemma04]

Call the Clark Howard show. He always has good advice,and helps people who get the run around.

[Jane93]

Threatening letter from a lawyer!

[honeybunmom]

Has your dh tried contacting the HR department of his former employer?  Is this a reputable record keeper like Fidelity or JPMorgan?  If the record keeper wasn't forking over my money, I would contact my former employer and my State's Attorney and the State's Attorney for the state where the record keeper is located, if different.

[ellairiesmom]

nak

i worked for merrill lynch in the retirement 401k division for 12 years before having my babies & that would never fly there.  i am thinking it must be a smaller provider/recordkeeper who handled the account?  can you share any of the specific businesses involved? 

there was a situation years ago with a smaller airline (a major one) where they had spent the 401k deductions to repair planes hoping to put it back before we came after them for the funds to match the payroll records they submitted that month...DOL/ERISA got involved quickly.  I would reach out to them. 

[honeybunmom]

Thanks for the reminder ellairiesmom - OP, you might want to check with the Department of Labor and see if any actions have been filed against this employer or this recordkeeper.

[skatterkat]

Actually, call the U.S. Department of Labor - Employee Benefits Security Administration at 1-866-444-3272.  Choose your local office.  401(k) rollover issues are definitely within their scope and a benefits advisor should be able to get some real action going.

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeybunmom 

Thanks for the reminder ellairiesmom - OP, you might want to check with the Department of Labor and see if any actions have been filed against this employer or this recordkeeper.

[Gendenwitha]

No expert here as to how HR departments work, but as a tax preparer, direct rollovers are the best.  Maybe contact the company or credit union where you want to roll it too, and have them request the money, see if you can't get a wire transfer directly to the new IRA account.  That bites too, because if you'd gotten it rolled to a Roth last year you could have spread out the tax bite over two years.

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by Gendenwitha 

No expert here as to how HR departments work, but as a tax preparer, direct rollovers are the best.  Maybe contact the company or credit union where you want to roll it too, and have them request the money, see if you can't get a wire transfer directly to the new IRA account.  That bites too, because if you'd gotten it rolled to a Roth last year you could have spread out the tax bite over two years.

Dh is trying to do a direct rollover to another 401K but the custodian hasn't/won't return the document sent to them to sign by the rollover custodian.

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by skatterkat

Actually, call the U.S. Department of Labor - Employee Benefits Security Administration at 1-866-444-3272.  Choose your local office.  401(k) rollover issues are definitely within their scope and a benefits advisor should be able to get some real action going.

This seems promising. Dh was going to try to threaten them with the BBB which has no authority over anything.

[ellairiesmom]

401ks are a protected benefit so the DOL takes it seriously.  I am not saying it will necessarily be easy to get a hold of a person etc. but if you call, email & put in writing as much detail as possible & record the dates of your communications, do all your due diligence etc, you should see results. 

I might also send a copy of any written communication you send to the DOL over to the custodian/recordkeeper of the 401k.  That could get them moving along although I am not sure why they are being so difficult.  Rollovers are a dozen a day occurrence with any institution & there are processing standards, checklists etc.  It's hard to know exactly the situation without seeing the paperwork you have, knowing the parties involved & how they recordkeep & deal with the asset manager or bank holding the actual funds.  For example, at a bigger institution like Merrill/BOA, Fidelity, Vanguard...they hold the records AND they hold the money.  So it's such an easy process & turnaround.  There are other companies like an ADP or Paychex who are actually payroll providers that also handle 401k recordkeeping services for companies BUT have an outside investment holder/mgr for the actual cash..but still have strict stds.  Then there are also small business providers like Bisys who outsource everything/sold their business to Merrill/BOA but still partner with them.  I have seen things get lost in the shuffle in those smaller providers' environments. 

Has the rollover amount been out of the market these 2 years?  Have you seen any quarterly statements showing market fluctuation or has this account been actually zeroed out & the check missing in limbo all this time?  The DOL might calculate a standard interest amount owed in addition to reflect missed market opportunity. 

PM me if you want.  Good Luck!!!!