Unlocking Lost Retirement Savings: The DOL’s New Database Initiative
Published on by Eric Goodman in Benefit Plan Audits
For anyone, losing track of retirement savings due to job changes, company mergers, or even businesses closing their doors can have major implications come retirement time. To help ensure employees gain the maximum benefit from their retirement savings, The Department of Labor (DOL) is launching the Retirement Savings Lost and Found database to address this widespread issue. This resource, established under the SECURE 2.0 Act, aims to help workers reconnect with their retirement savings and ensure they enjoy the secure future they have saved for.
What it means for you
The Department of Labor (DOL) plans to roll out the Retirement Savings Lost and Found database on December 29, 2024. This database will enable workers to search for lost retirement savings. Lost retirement savings occur for various reasons including recordkeeping, workers changing jobs, employers going out of business, or when companies merge.
Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security’s Lisa M. Gomez says: “The fundamental purpose of any job-based retirement plan is to pay promised benefits to the workers who participate in those plans and plan beneficiaries. Our goal, which we believe plan sponsors and administrators and their service providers share, is to make sure that workers and their beneficiaries receive all the retirement benefits they earned and were promised through their working careers so that they can look forward to a secure and enjoyable retirement.
The Retirement Savings Lost and Found database will be another tool to help plans carry out this responsibility. We all need to work together to achieve that goal, and we appreciate the partnership of the retirement plan community in moving forward.”
Next steps
If you want to know more about Retirement Saving Lost and Found and what it means for your business, contact one of our employee benefit plan pros. We’re here to help.
You may also be interested in the latest in 401(k) plan management trends – download the 2024 Employee Benefit Plan 401(k) Benchmarking Report for insights on plan management trends, how strategies are evolving, number of plan options offered, and how frequently plans are being reviewed – it’s free.
For more information on the other aspects of the SECURE 2.0 Act and how it impacts your company’s retirement plan read SECURE 2.0 – Proposed Retirement Plan Changes and What They Mean.
