401(k) Plans : Protection Issues for Forced Transfers & Inactive Accounts

Millions of employees change jobs each year and some leave their savings in their former employers'' 401(k) plans. If their accounts are small enough and they do not instruct the plan to do otherwise, plans can transfer their savings into an IRA without their consent. The United States Government Accountability Office examined the implications for 401(k) plan participants of being forced out of plans and into these IRAs. This book examines what happens over time to the savings of participants forced out of their plans; the challenges 401(k) plan participants face keeping track of retirement savings in general; and how other countries address similar challenges of inactive accounts. This book also discusses the issues plan sponsors, fiduciaries, service providers, and other parties face in handling plan benefits payable to participants and beneficiaries who cannot be found or are nonresponsive.