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Locating Missing Plan Participants




Retirement plan fiduciaries can get help to locate and distribute retirement benefits to missing plan participants under guidance that the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued on Jan. 12.

The new guidance for complying with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) consists of three parts:

*** Missing Participants—Best Practices for Pension Plans describes best practices that fiduciaries of defined benefit pension plans or 401(k)-type defined contribution plans can take to ensure that plan articipants receive promised benefits when they reach retirement age.

*** Compliance Assistance Release 2021-01 outlines the general investigative approach that will guide enforcement actions by EBSA's regional offices under the Terminated Vested Participants Project, which can aid voluntary compliance efforts by plan fiduciaries.

*** Field Assistance Bulletin 2021-01 authorizes fiduciaries of terminating 401(k)-type plans to use the Public Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) Defined Contribution Missing Participants Program to hold missing or nonresponsive participants' account balances, and to help those participants find and receive their benefits.

Read the rest of the article:
EBSA Clarifies Obligations to Missing Retirement Plan Participants
SHRM | Jan 2021

US DOL Issues Missing Participant Guidance
DOL Press Release | Jan 2021

DOL Guidance

Terminating A 401(k) Plan? The DOL Blesses Use Of The PGBC Missing Participant Program
DOL Releases Guidance On Addressing The Missing Participant Problem
Proskauer | Jan 2021

DOL Guidance on Missing Participants Is No Longer Missing
Morgan Lewis | Jan 2021

DOL Issues Missing Participants Guidance
Groom | Jan 2021

DOL issues guidance on missing participants
Mercer | Jan 2021

IRS Guidance

IRS reviews steps for retirement plans to locate missing participants
Mercer | Nov 2020

IRS New Guidance on State Unclaimed Property Laws and IRS Helpful Reminders on Missing Participants
Wagner | Dec 2020

Missing Participants or Beneficiaries
IRS | May 2020

PBGC Resources

Expanded Missing Participants Program
PBGC

Related Reading

Get Beneficiary Designation and Missing Participant Practices in Order
Plan Sponsor | Jul 2020

Are You Looking for Missing Participants?
Findley | Mar 2020

Locating lost 401k plan participants
Henry + Horne | Jan 2020

Tracking Down Your Missing Participants
Vision 401(k) | Oct 2020


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