DOL Issues Request for Information on Retirement Savings Lost and Found

On April 16, 2024, the DOL issued a request for public comment on its proposal to create a database to allow individuals to locate former retirement plan information. This searchable database would help implement the requirement under the SECURE 2.0 Act to more easily allow individuals to obtain plan administrator contact information.

Prior DOL initiatives under the existing Terminated Vested Participants Project (TVPP) for defined benefit pension plans indicate retirement plan administrators often lose track of participants and beneficiaries. Similarly, participants and beneficiaries often lose track of their own past accounts. In some cases, recordkeeping challenges, business closures, or mergers and acquisitions activity may result in accounts becoming “lost.” The proposed Retirement Savings Lost and Found database aims to facilitate the reunification of participants and beneficiaries and their prior accounts.

The DOL’s request asks for voluntary participation from plan administrators and indicates administrators can attach the information to their 2023 Form 5500 filing. Interested parties may submit comments through June 17, 2024.