This is our final vlog about the changes to retirement plans under the SECURE Act 2.0 which became law in December 2022. You can find all of the other vlogs about other changes on our website.
Today, we will discuss about the provision that directs the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to create a national online searchable lost and found database that plan participants, who have lost track of their retirement benefits, to locate their retirement accounts from former employers.
This provision will require those retirement plan administrators to report certain information about terminated participants to DOL for a new Retirement Savings Lost and Found database. This database will also include the contact information for plan administrators which will assist anyone to locate their retirement account. It will also track changes to the plan administrator due to plan mergers, divisions, bankruptcy, consolidation, termination, and changes to the plan name.
DOL is supposed to establish this database by December 29, 2024, to allow terminated participants to search and locate their lost retirement benefits.
Ultimately, this would help anyone to ensure they don’t lose their retirement benefits throughout their career. Hopefully, this will address the ongoing issue of leaving retirement accounts behind which I elaborated on in a previous vlog, “The Forgotten 401(k) Problem”. If you are curious, check it out. Hope this will help people to locate and keep up with their retirement benefits from their past and future.