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Find your old 401(k)

Left a job and lost track of its 401(k) or pension? It may still be waiting for you. Work through these free steps, using official government searches, to find out whether you have an old account and who holds it now.

Educational only, not financial advice

This guide explains general steps and official resources, not a recommendation for you. It isn’t financial, tax or legal advice, and plan rules differ. Talk to the plan administrator or a qualified professional before moving money. What you tick stays in your browser: nothing is sent to us.

Searching is free. Never pay a finder.

The Department of Labor doesn’t charge a fee to recover funds, and says not to pay anyone claiming they can recover funds on its behalf. DOL will never call, text or email you asking for your password or a one-time code. (DOL)

Your checklist

8 steps

Tick steps off as you go. Your progress is saved only in this browser, never sent to us.

  1. Write down each job, roughly when you worked there, and the company’s legal name if you know it. Include union jobs. Old W-2s or pay stubs can jog your memory.

  2. Search your inbox and files for the plan’s name, a benefit statement or a Summary Plan Description. Plans send benefit statements periodically, so if you moved, they may have gone to an old address. Anything with the plan’s name gives you something to search for and ask about.

  3. Ask whether you have a balance, who holds it now, and for a copy of the Summary Plan Description and your latest benefit statement. If you can’t reach the employer, a free EBSA benefits advisor can help you locate it.

  4. The Department of Labor’s free database lists private-sector employer and union plans linked to your Social Security number, with contact details for each plan administrator. You sign in with an ID-verified Login.gov account.

  5. DOL’s Form 5500 Search shows the annual reports plans have filed since January 1, 2010. Search by the employer’s name (Plan Sponsor), the plan name or the employer’s EIN to confirm the plan’s exact name and number before you call.

  6. If you left a job with between $1,000 and $7,000 in the plan and didn’t choose what to do with it, the plan may deposit it into an IRA in your name; $1,000 or less may be paid to you. The top of that range was raised from $5,000 by SECURE 2.0 for distributions after 2023, and each plan chooses whether to use the higher limit. Ask the old plan administrator where they sent it.

  7. When an abandoned plan is closed and the owner can’t be found, DOL says a balance of $1,000 or less may in some cases go to a state’s unclaimed property fund. Search every state you’ve lived or worked in. It’s free.

  8. PBGC holds some unclaimed benefits from private-sector plans that ended; its search needs your last name and the last four digits of your SSN. For a 401(k) whose employer disappeared, DOL’s Abandoned Plan Search shows who is closing the plan and how to reach them.

More tips for each search

Lost and Found Database

  • To verify your identity through Login.gov you’ll need your legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, a mobile device and front and back photos of a current driver’s license. A landline that isn’t internet-based (VoIP) can stand in for the mobile device.
  • It covers plans from private-sector employers and unions, including pensions and 401(k)s. It can’t find IRAs, government plans, plans of certain religious organizations, or Social Security benefits.
  • A result means you were in a plan at some point, not that money is still owed: it may already have been paid out or rolled over. Only the plan administrator can confirm.
  • Contact details can be out of date, because some come from older filings that don’t reflect plan mergers or new administrators. The Form 5500 Search can help you find newer filings for the same plan.
  • DOL staff can’t search the database for you, and for now it can’t search for a deceased spouse’s benefits.

Source: Lost and Found Database FAQ

Form 5500 Search

  • Add an asterisk to widen a name search (widget* finds “widgeting plan”), or use quotes for an exact phrase.
  • An EIN works with or without the hyphen.
  • Click the arrow next to a result to download a ZIP file containing the filing as a PDF.
  • Can’t find a filing you believe exists? The EFAST2 help desk is at 866-463-3278.

Source: Form 5500 Search help

PBGC and abandoned plans

  • A PBGC match is a first step, not confirmation. You’ll call PBGC with more identifying details. Its database is updated quarterly. (PBGC)
  • When an employer abandons a 401(k), a bank or other custodian called a Qualified Termination Administrator (QTA) can close it. If you didn’t answer its notice within 30 days, your balance may have been rolled over to an IRA for you. The Abandoned Plan Search lists the QTA’s phone number. (DOL)
  • Can’t find the employer or the plan? Call a free EBSA benefits advisor at 1-866-444-3272.

Found one? Your options

The plan must give you a written explanation of your rollover options. In general, you can:

  1. Leave it where it is, if the plan allows. Keep your address up to date with the plan so statements reach you.
  2. Roll it into your new employer’s 401(k). Plans don’t have to accept rollovers, so ask the new plan first.
  3. Roll it to an IRA. In a direct rollover the old plan pays the new account, and no tax is withheld.
  4. Cash it out. The money is generally taxable (except qualified Roth money and amounts already taxed), the plan withholds 20% for federal tax, and if you’re under 59½ you may owe a 10% additional tax on the taxable part unless an exception applies, such as leaving that employer at 55 or older.

Sources: IRS: Rollovers, IRS Topic 558, DOL: benefits after job loss

The 401(k) rollover guide explains direct vs. 60-day rollovers, the 20% withholding trap and Roth rules in more detail.

Sources

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