On December 27, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) launched the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database of terminated participants who still have a benefit in a qualified retirement plan and are at least age 65. While the database is now active and available for use, it is in the early stages of development and is still being worked on to become the comprehensive source that it’s intended to be.
Participants may leave employers without realizing that they have vested benefits in a retirement plan or may choose to leave the money in the plan but forget about the balance as they change jobs or move. The plan is required to report terminated participants who possess a balance on Form 8955-SSA. In the past, the burden was on the Social Security Administration to notify the former participant about the possible benefits once the participant reached the Social Security normal retirement age. The DOL Lost and Found Database is intended to assist participants who have lost track of prior account balances to reunite with plans from their past.
For more information about the database, visit lostandfound.dol.gov.