How to Find an Old 401(k) Plan

Forgetting about an old 401(k) plan happens more often than you may think. It’s also more costly than you may anticipate.

As of May 2023, there were 29.2 million “left-behind or forgotten” 401(k) accounts in the U.S., holding approximately $1.65 trillion in assets, according to fintech company Capitalize.

Assets in 401(k)s “tend to make up the larger part of Americans’ retirement savings, so not being able to locate old plans can be a big issue,” says Jonathan Lakin, senior investment consultant at Mercer LLC in Dallas. “If an employee changes jobs and finds an old 401(k) plan years later, depending on the investments the old 401(k) was left in, it could be invested improperly and the employee will need to make up for lost time.”

How can a retirement saver recover a lost 401(k) plan and plug the proceeds into a current plan? Take these action steps to get the job done.

The first step to tracking down old 401(k)s is to retrace your career steps and talk to old employers.

“Start with your resume,” says Rachel Burk, a money manager with Offit Advisors in Columbia, Maryland. “It will have a list of every job you have had.”

Contact your former human resources departments one by one and get the name of the company that manages their 401(k) plans. “Ask if there is a contract number or plan ID number that you can give them,” Burk says. “Then you can call those retirement companies, and they will help you track them down.”

Finding an old 401(k) plan can be difficult since there is no global 401(k) plan database and there are dozens of recordkeepers.

“It can be even more difficult since an employer could have rolled your funds automatically to an IRA if you had a balance of less than $5,000, changed recordkeepers since you last left or terminated the plan,” says Matt Bruce, president of Pointer Financial Group in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

That’s why Bruce recommends locating your old 401(k) documents either digitally or manually. “A big step in finding an old 401(k) is digging up any old statements you might have or conducting an email search to find old documents related to the 401(k),” Bruce says. “We always recommend participants use personal email addresses in place of work email when enrolling in a 401(k) so they don’t lose any documentation when leaving a job.”

If you can find the recordkeeper for the 401(k) plan, call them and have your Social Security number and other personal information ready, Bruce says. “Even if the plan has since been moved, most recordkeepers will be able to point you in the right direction or tell you if you had ever had an account there,” he says.

Often, government agencies hold 401(k) plan information that plan participants may not otherwise locate.

Also, try searching the IRS and Department of Labor websites. “The IRS can help with information about 401(k) plans that have been rolled over into IRAs,” Ball says. “The DOL maintains a database of retirement plans that have been abandoned or are in the process of being terminated.”

With both agencies, start with the customer service feedback channels or the agency’s customer service phone number. It may take an hour or two, but there’s a good chance you can track down some of your 401(k) activity via Uncle Sam.

It’s also a good idea to search the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation database. “The PBGC maintains a database of unclaimed defined benefit plans,” says Bill Ryan Natividad, head of operations at the global financial comparison website Finty.com. “Although 401(k) plans are not covered, participants can have an old 401(k) account rolled into a defined benefit plan, making it worthwhile to check this database as well.”

If you have access to old pay stubs (start by searching your old tax files), you can check those for 401(k) deferrals, which are employee contributions to company-sponsored retirement plans.

“If you see deferrals, you may be able to call the payroll provider to determine where those deferrals went,” Bruce says.

Once you’ve located your old 401(k), you have several options.

“The first step is to verify your ownership and the current value of the account,” Ball says. “There may be paperwork to fill out, but the extent of this varies depending on the financial institution. In many cases, your old employer would not need to be involved unless the 401(k) plan was not properly managed or there are discrepancies in the account.”

Next, your primary strategy is to determine what to do with the account. You’ll have to decide whether to leave it alone, cash it out, roll it into an IRA or into your current 401(k) based on your financial situation and retirement goals, Ball notes.

Another critical move when you find an old 401(k) is to get a current statement from the account. “You won’t always need to get the old employer involved as long as you know the name of the 401(k) company your employer worked with,” Burk says. “The cases I have seen where we did need to get them involved is where the company switched 401(k) companies in the middle, and they have a problem finding the money.”

You can usually take the proceeds of an old 401(k) and roll it into a new 401(k). “Every company and plan will have different requirements for how this happens,” Burk says. “Sometimes these requirements are confusing or can take a lot of time and effort.”

One trick Burk’s firm has found successful is to ask the 401(k) company to roll the money into an IRA within the same firm. “Then it will be easier for the new 401(k) company to move this money,” Burk notes. “Also, you can move it to a different company if you want to. Just make sure to check that your IRA can be moved into your new retirement plan.”

Remember that not all plans are the same, and every plan has different rules set by the employer, “so checking with the retirement plan advisor on your current plan is always a good idea,” Burk says.