You can find your 401(k) by using Capitalize’s 401(k) Finder tool, contacting your HR administrator, or through the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits. The process is quick and only requires basic information, including your Social Security number.
Find my 401(k)s
Life can get complicated at times – especially when it comes to personal finance. In today’s fast paced job market, you’ll likely find yourself switching jobs throughout your career. Naturally, it’s not uncommon to forget about your old retirement plan and wind up with a lost retirement account. In fact, forgotten 401(k) accounts now exceed $1.65 trillion in assets in our latest study. Keeping track of your savings is an important foundation in your retirement planning journey.
If you’ve lost track of your 401(k) savings account, there’s no need to worry. There are a few easy ways to look up old employer-sponsored plans, including by using your Social Security number. Here, we’ve outlined the process to find your missing retirement savings, discuss your options once you’ve found the account, and answer several frequently asked questions about a forgotten account. To start here are four easy ways to find old 401(k)s:
At Capitalize, we’ve built a 401(k) Finder to help you find any outstanding retirement savings associated with previous employers. The Finder is simple to use. You can get started with the following information:
We use this information to securely search multiple databases that can help find your old retirement accounts. This is an efficient way to a comprehensive list of old retirement accounts you may have.
If you’re looking for other options to track down a lost employer-sponsored plan, you’re in luck.
An easy method to finding a forgotten account would be to look at an old 401(k) account statement you may have saved. A statement will have most of the account details you’re likely looking for. Some of the account information you can expect to find on an old statement would include your plan provider, your account balance at the time the statement was printed, and account performance relevant to the date of the statement. Other account details may include the investment options you had participated in, account fees you may have been subject to, and additional helpful account management details, like the phone number of your old provider.
You can also find an old account by navigating to your former employer’s HR department (Human Resources department) website and finding your employer-sponsored retirement plan administrator’s contact information. From there, you can call, message on them on LinkedIn, or email them. Be sure to let them know you’re a former employee in search of your old retirement savings plan. They should be able to provide you with your old retirement investment account information to track down your lost funds.
With some basic Personal Identifying Information (“PII”), you can search reputable public databases that help you track down your unclaimed assets, including 401(k) account information. Sometimes your old retirement investment can even be located from your state’s unclaimed financial assets search or on the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators site at missingmoney.com.
The National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits provides a secure database of retirement plan account balances that have been left unclaimed by former plan participants. It’s common to have to provide your Social Security number in order to get results from this database.
The U.S. DOL provides an abandoned plan search database through the Employee Benefits Security Administration, which can help you access information on any terminated employer plans you might’ve left behind throughout your career. It will be helpful to know your previous plan’s name, employer name, or employer location when using this database to find lost funds.
You can also use the benefits database “FreeErisa” to locate a retirement plan you’ve left behind, but note – you may have to use a credit card to pay for some of the features of this tool.
Once you’ve found your old 401(k), you usually have the following choices:
Rolling 401(k) retirement money into an IRA, or Individual Retirement Account, can be a sensible option if you want potentially lower fees and more comprehensive investment options at a financial institution or brokerage of your choice. For added context, you’ll typically have two options for your rollover.
Direct rollovers are typically the simplest approach. This is where your 401(k) is transferred to your new IRA provider.
Indirect rollovers are more complex and involve the funds first being transferred to you before being deposited into the new account. Keep in mind that you’ll need to deposit the funds in your IRA account within 60 days in order to avoid taxes and penalties.
This is an option if your new employer allows 401(k) transfers into your new 401(k) plan, and if your current employer’s 401(k) is suitable for long-term investment. Clearly, this is only an option if you’ve already found a new job. Consider comparing the account fees between your new 401(k) and an IRA to see which has lower fees.
This is a choice that should only be used if you need the money now for a real emergency. Depending on the tax status of the account (meaning either a traditional or Roth account), you may be up against a tax charge. If you’re younger than 59.5, you’ll also be subject to an early withdrawal penalty and potentially additional income tax. This is how the IRS discourages cashing out a 401(k) after you quit a job. If this is something you’re considering, it may be smart to first consult a financial advisor who can offer investment advice for your personal situation. Financial planning is essential before withdrawing from your retirement nest egg so you’re not in for any unexpected taxes.
If your old employer’s plan offers you the investment freedom you’d like — and is reasonably priced — there’s nothing obligating you to move the account. It may be wise to consider developing a retirement planning strategy and set to time to regularly review the account performance of your retirement fund. Consider working with an advisor for financial planning if you could use some assistance in planning out your future.
This is the case as long as you don’t have a small balance in the account (less than $5,000). If this is the case, your previous 401(k) administrator may simply send you a check for the account balance. This happens because at low account levels, it may not be economically feasible to administer the retirement funds account any longer. Consider checking your 401(k) balance so you know what to expect
Your old 401(k) retirement savings plan can be found for free by contacting your previous employer’s HR department or 401(k) plan administrator (if you know who it is). They can provide options for how to proceed from there.
If, on the other hand, you aren’t sure where your old investment accounts are — or if you even have a 401(k) plan — you might try running a search using our 401(k) Finder or investigating any of the public databases.
This may sound like it’s a problem, but it’s actually quite normal — and a good thing! This means you’ve taken active steps at former jobs to put away a retirement fund.
There’s no real issue with having retirement funds at multiple accounts and different institutions, but it does tend to be administratively easier if you have fewer accounts. Less paperwork usually means less headache for everyone involved.
The U.S. Pension Guaranty Corporation offers an unclaimed database to search for a pension plan that may have been dissolved. You will need to provide some basic PII in order to use the tool.
If you find your old 401(k) investment accounts and need help rolling them over, feel free to contact us for assistance. We can help you find and consolidate all your old 401(k)s into an IRA of your choice. This can make account management of more streamlined and help you take back control of your retirement nest egg.
We also maintain an updated resources page for you to explore at your leisure.
For extra help, or if you run into any roadblocks, it may be best to consult a qualified financial advisor or experienced tax planner.
