My old company appears to be stalling from my rolling over my 401k.

5 Comments

1. Kristie WhiteSeptember 17,2021 at 2:31PM UTC

   This sounds like the company is in trouble. So if you are not terminating or retiring, I think you should be preparing for that. Technically, your pre-tax payroll deductions are paying into your 401k retirement account and the company is required to deposit those with the fiduciary trust (the investment company) that is managing your account. They are similarly responsible for depositing any matching funds through the same mechanism based on the structure of the 401k plan. But therein lies the opportunity for bad action - the requirement to make those deposits. If - in these difficult times - company management has deferred those deposits to a later date so they could use the money elsewhere like keeping payroll going, there could be a problem with the 401k obligations to employees being underfunded. This also happens with pension plans. I'm not sure how or if this is "illegal" but I suspect it may be with 401k IRS regulations. With pensions, deposits are required based on obligations of future payouts. With 401k, deposits are strictly your deductions and their matching obligations. I do know it doesn't change the company's obligation to your 401k or to you as a participant. They have to pony up the money when you are ready to legally claim.

2. Genevieve PluvioseSeptember 17,2021 at 4:26PM UTC

   Thank you for the response.

3. AnonymousSeptember 17,2021 at 3:54PM UTC

   Not at all a good sign. Do some calling around for an attorney who can possibly write a demand letter.

4. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistSeptember 18,2021 at 2:42AM UTC

   Is there a company, like John Hancock, that administers that?

5. AnonymousSeptember 20,2021 at 2:10PM UTC

   Yes, it is John Hancock that administers that. When I initially contacted them -- they referred me to the president of the company who I have been interacting with ever since.