Potential Private Retirement Benefit Info

[wmc1000]

The tax transcript will only go back a max of 10 years. I received the same letter from SS this year and it was for a 401K from an employer I left back in 1998. I thought I had probably rolled it over at some point, (company had changed hands once), but I called the HR department for said company and they confirmed I had left no funds with them.

 

[ERD50]

Anyone else find it slightly disturbing that SS is tracking private retirement account ownership ?

.... I'm a lot less concerned about the letter now, then when I first read it. I was very confused why SSA would be telling me of a pension that I had with all my personal info and correct amounts etc..

street : why would you be concerned? I don't understand the problem?

bada bing : No, not disturbing at all. Remember that our private pensions are insured by the PBGC, which is regulated (not paid for) by the Feds. Sharing info seems like a good thing to me.

Would it be better if people forgot about some old pension, and never collected that money? I appreciate this service. I see only positives.

-ERD50

 

[street]

^ well, I was confused why SS would let me know about money I had in a 401K. I really didn't know how the system works, I have a better understanding of the letter now, because of the good people here on ER.

 

[Katsmeow]

Hmm.. Now I wonder about something. I got a letter like this from SS over a year ago. The plan name mentioned is for a law firm I worked for over 20 years ago. The year reported is 1998. It doesn't give an amount or value. The type of benefit is shown as M and payment frequency is M. (According the legend M basically means that the type of benefit and payment frequency is not reported). I had a 401(k) at that firm which I rolled over to an IRA when I left. I was never told that there was any other benefit.

Anyway - the plan administrator listed is the name and address of the firm. But, that firm broke up many years ago. So if I wrote the name and address on the notice, I am sure the mail would bounce back.

Does anyone have any idea of who I would contact about this in case there actually are any benefits (which I doubt) which are still available.

 

[Octogirl]

How do you request a printout from the IRS about last year's reported earnings, interest earned and any investment accounts ?
Can you post a link ?

I'd like to make sure I didn't miss something as I do my taxes this year.

 

[gauss]

How do you request a printout from the IRS about last year's reported earnings, interest earned and any investment accounts ?
Can you post a link ?

@Octogirl, Did you see my post #25 above?

 

[Alan]

Hmm.. Now I wonder about something. I got a letter like this from SS over a year ago. The plan name mentioned is for a law firm I worked for over 20 years ago. The year reported is 1998. It doesn't give an amount or value. The type of benefit is shown as M and payment frequency is M. (According the legend M basically means that the type of benefit and payment frequency is not reported). I had a 401(k) at that firm which I rolled over to an IRA when I left. I was never told that there was any other benefit.

Anyway - the plan administrator listed is the name and address of the firm. But, that firm broke up many years ago. So if I wrote the name and address on the notice, I am sure the mail would bounce back.

Does anyone have any idea of who I would contact about this in case there actually are any benefits (which I doubt) which are still available.

When I retired I rolled over my 401k to an IRA and forgot about my old 401k. A few years later I started to receive quarterly emails saying my 401k statement was available. When I investigated I found out from the plan administrator that a class action lawsuit that I knew nothing about had been settled and I had over $1,500 in my 401k. Money appearing from “nowhere” is always nice.

 

[braumeister]

I did a little part time teaching for a while after retiring, and had to be enrolled in the state teacher's pension program in order to do so. When I decided I didn't want to do that any more, I closed the account and rolled the money into my IRA.

Or at least I thought I did. Somehow there was still six cents in the account, which I learned about from the letter the nice folks at Social Security sent me (similar to the OP). I did nothing about it and the entire amount eventually accrued to the state.

They never thanked me for the windfall.

 

[GravitySucks]

I received a similar letter from SS. It was all in order so I did nothing for follow up.

 

[wmc1000]

I had a 401K at an employer I was at for less than 2 years that I totally forgot about and a few years ago I was sent a letter from the administrator of the plan that since it had been without activity for 10 years I needed to roll it over.

I guess the company must have had some language in there to reduce their admin costs on employee accounts where the employees left prior to "retiring" and drawing their funds.

Contacted the company HR department and ended up with another almost 20K for my IRA!

 

[Winemaker]

No, actually really glad they do.
I imagine some private individual working at an insurance company managing some folks 401K. When the person dies, and nobody claims the money...... it means they don't know about it.

So perfect for the 401K manager to steal.

Here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, unclaimed property held by institutions get turned over to the State Treasury. Every year, maybe twice a year, there is a public notice printed in various newspapers, listing the names of the owners of unclaimed property. I found DM's name as well as a few tenants of mine over the years, got in touch with the Treasury, and we were able to reclaim all the property.

It has happened 4 times with 4 different institutions with various amounts.


Sometimes I go online to other states and check their unclaimed property. DW was adopted, and her biological parents and adopted parents divorced and remarried several times. I did find some account for DW's paternal GM, but was for under $50 bucks. I used to tell folks I was married once but had 6 M-I-Ls.

 

[Jeb-NY]

My wife had a similar letter back a few years ago. Turned out a company she worked at for a few years had a pension plan she didn't know about and when she contacted them they said she was due $149. We thought great found money. We were surprised when it turned out to be $149/month for as long as she lives. Still not a fortune but better than a stick in the eye.

 

[meleana]

I have $29 per month coming to me when I turn 65 from a hospital I worked at years ago for just 3 years before being laid off.

You can bet I am going to claim it. Will be my wine money! L!

 

[happy2bretired]

I was very happy to find my late husband’s small pension that I’m now getting. I also found a small life insurance pay out of my mother’s through our state unclaimed property division.

 

[Big_Hitter]

it means you have money. Call the Plan Administrator to collect it.

it actually means you MAY have money

just because an amount is reported on the SSA doesn't mean it was taken off the SSA when they participant was cashed out or the plan terminated

definitely follow up on this though with the plan administrator

 

[statsman]

I'm sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I just received the same form SSA-L99-C1 in the mail this week. For me, the year reported was 1993. The old employer listed and the firm handling their pension and retirement accounts, Fidelity, have no account information for me.

My merger history is very similar to what I quoted below (might have been the same companies!), so it is very possible my few pension credits with Company A made its way to Company C. Very disconcerting that I have no idea why Company A reported the information in 1993 (the year of the Company AB merger). I have sent a secure message to my last employer in the merger line, Company C, documenting that information. We'll see what they say.

Moderators: If I shouldn't have bumped up this thread, please delete mine. Much of what I would likely hear is already stated on this thread.

I worked for Company A for my first 15 years of employment right after college. I then moved on to work at two other large companies (for 2 years and 16.5 years) for the balance of my career.

Company A merged with Company B, and that entity (Company AB) was later assimilated by a third company (Company C).

As I did not want to risk losing my pension rights with Company A, I contacted Company C about 10 years after leaving Company A, letting them know of my service with Company A and my then-current address and asking about the amount of my pension and when it would be payable. Company C confirmed that I was still in their system, and provided the amount of my pension and when it would start.

I received a similar letter to the one you included in post #1 from Social Security when I was turning 62, basically informing me that I was due pension money from an earlier employer (Company A which was now Company C).

I was a bit surprised get such a letter from SS, but was glad to know that SS keeps tabs on this for people who either 1) might have forgotten (or were unaware) that they had accrued a pension at a former employer or 2) had moved/changed addresses/changed names so that a former employer might not have been able to inform them of funds due to them.

 

[jazz4cash]

Anyone else find it slightly disturbing that SS is tracking private retirement account ownership ?

No. Not at all. I’m not sure tracking a good description. Maybe all they know is that a retirement account associated with the SSN.

 

[jazz4cash]

I'm sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I just received the same form SSA-L99-C1 in the mail this week. For me, the year reported was 1993. The old employer listed and the firm handling their pension and retirement accounts, Fidelity, have no account information for me.

My merger history is very similar to what I quoted below (might have been the same companies!), so it is very possible my few pension credits with Company A made its way to Company C. Very disconcerting that I have no idea why Company A reported the information in 1993 (the year of the Company AB merger). I have sent a secure message to my last employer in the merger line, Company C, documenting that information. We'll see what they say.

Moderators: If I shouldn't have bumped up this thread, please delete mine. Much of what I would likely hear is already stated on this thread.

My BIL was informed of a small pension benefit in this way. When he retired they gave him a lump and said that was all he was entitled to. When he received the SS notice he followed up and learned that he was entitled to another benefit that had been mishandled during a merger.

 

[iloveyoga]

No. Not at all. I’m not sure tracking a good description. Maybe all they know is that a retirement account associated with the SSN.

This makes my brain hurt a little, but I remember this from when I worked with pension and 401(k) plans. We (the service provider) provided this information (vested deferred benefit) as part of the annual tax filing, for the employer to report to the IRS/DOL; my details are a bit sketchy. It was meant to be a reminder to the plan participant to not forget the benefits that may be payable.

We also had to help answer the plan participant questions, similar to what are being asked here. Sometime we had to go back and prove the benefit had already been paid.....

I have been retired from that job now for 11 years, so this was a good memory jog for me.

 

[statsman]

My BIL was informed of a small pension benefit in this way. When he retired they gave him a lump and said that was all he was entitled to. When he received the SS notice he followed up and learned that he was entitled to another benefit that had been mishandled during a merger.

I think my short period in the pension with the first company may have been the reason for this notice. You had to pay into the pension with that company, and I only did it for the first 6 months out of my 11 years there before the first merger. I opted for the 401(k) after that first 6 months.

What SSA doesn't know is whether this was addressed after 1993. I thought my short pension time was forwarded to the last company I worked for, which didn't require a payment to be in the pension. My pension years were the time with the last company plus that 6 or so months with the first company's pension. It added up.

I honestly don't think this will amount to any additional pension money, but you never know. I sent my "retiring" company the details of what was on the form in a secure message. I fully expect them to explain it away. At this point, I just want to know why the first company reported the information on the form in 1993.