401K Lost, Any Idea how to Find It?

[axeman462]

sorry if this is in the wrong forum, i want sure where to put it.

My mother-in-law left a company in California back in the 1980's. since then the company has been gobbled up for 2 other companies, and also went bankrupt. When she left the company she had a 401K worth about $25,000.
She has tried several times to find out how to access the 401K but cant find out anything.
The company she worked for was Dryden Engineering Company Inc. in Santa Clara California.
I am not even sure where to begin looking to find how to access the 401k for her, because the company is not around anymore, and she doesnt know who it was invested with (vangaurd, or mass mutual for example)

anybody come across a situation like this that might be able to point me in the right direction, or at least tell me what kind of questions to ask to help find the money. It is for my mother in law, and i am just trying to help her locate the money so she can have access to it.

 

[scagnt83]

sorry if this is in the wrong forum, i want sure where to put it.

My mother-in-law left a company in California back in the 1980's. since then the company has been gobbled up for 2 other companies, and also went bankrupt. When she left the company she had a 401K worth about $25,000.
She has tried several times to find out how to access the 401K but cant find out anything.
The company she worked for was Dryden Engineering Company Inc. in Santa Clara California.
I am not even sure where to begin looking to find how to access the 401k for her, because the company is not around anymore, and she doesnt know who it was invested with (vangaurd, or mass mutual for example)

anybody come across a situation like this that might be able to point me in the right direction, or at least tell me what kind of questions to ask to help find the money. It is for my mother in law, and i am just trying to help her locate the money so she can have access to it.

It most likely was transferred to the 401k of the new company (whatever it may be these days).

It is out there somewhere with some company....
I assume that she has changed addresses since then and failed to update the 401k provider so she no longer receives statements?


Most likely it is with the new company that it has become over the years.
There is a small chance that it was not transferred into the new 401k and is just an inactive account with one of the old providers.


The way to track it down is to start with the last company it was. It doesnt matter if they still exist, but it helps.

If they still exist just call the HR department and ask. They most likely can help you track it down, or at least provide a timeline of 401k providers.

If they no longer exist then you need to do a 5500 search. 5500 is the tax form filed for the plan each year. This is public record and can be accessed fairly easily through 3rd party companies such as freeerisa.

The 5500 search is by company name. So you can start with the most recent company, find the last 5500 filed, and call that Plan Provider and ask if they have a record of her account.

Then obviously you work your way back through the various companies it has been over the years. The problem you might run into would be that the records only go back so far sometimes.

What is the most recent name of the company?

 

[Full Throttle]

I can't help you track it down, I'm not sure where I would start. There must be someone she can contact from the old company who would at least remember who was the custodian on the plan. If she could get the name of someone with the old company (even if just an old co-worker) and track them down (linked in, google search, ect), someone must remember what company held the plan. From there, I would call that company and ask for help.

As a side note, I recently worked with someone where the company went bankrupt. In his case, he was given a timeframe to roll it out or have it automatically transfer to a rollover IRA.

 

[VolAgent]

If it is from the 80s and she has had no contact with the investment company in decades, you may also want to contact the state. It may have been turned over as unclaimed property.

 

[Norwayguy]

If it is from the 80s and she has had no contact with the investment company in decades, you may also want to contact the state. It may have been turned over as unclaimed property.

Beat me to it very likely if it has been 30 years with no contact it is probably with the state. Anyone know what the state does with the funds....ie if 25k is turned over 30 years ago does the state stick in a bank account and earn interest?

 

[VolAgent]

Beat me to it very likely if it has been 30 years with no contact it is probably with the state. Anyone know what the state does with the funds....ie if 25k is turned over 30 years ago does the state stick in a bank account and earn interest?

California State Controller's Office : Unclaimed Property Main Page

Here is the site for California. I don't see an answer to that exact question. My guess is no interest.

 

[Norwayguy]

California State Controller's Office : Unclaimed Property Main Page

Here is the site for California. I don't see an answer to that exact question. My guess is no interest.

The state thanks you....Ever Wonder why the state goes after this unclaimed property?

 

[somarco]

When was the last time she got a benefit statement?

 

[Cornelius]

Not to get hopes up but 30 years? It may be a bit more than 25K.

 

[axeman462]

ok, sorry i haven;t responded sooner, and thanx for the help guys, i read all your posts and did some more fact finding, and this is what I have come up with thus far:

- Did the form 5500 search. nothing
- looked at the state lost property site, Found $200, but not related to her 401k (but still a nice find :-) )
- This next part gets a little complicated so I need to walk yall through the timeline (and this part makes me wonder if she ever really "owned" the money per se:

-In 1980 she started working at Dryden, and at the time they gave the employees an ESOP (Employer Stock Option Plan). When I asked her if she remembers setting up and 401k or contributing to it she tells me "no, but..."
- In 1984 she leaves the company
- In 1990 the company decides they dont want to do the ESOP plan any more, and want to set up 401Ks for the employees, and decide to buy out the employees.
- The custodian for the 401k was 'Great Western'
- In 1992 my mother in law comes in contact with someone at Dryden, and they say to her "oh, we were trying to locate you..." she gives the lady her new address, but does not remember anything else about the conversation.
- In 1998 the company was merged with an Ohio company called "MPW Industrial Services Group". At this point the custodian of the 401ks, Great Western, was no longer the custodian. The custodian at this point was Merril Lynch.
- In 2010(ish) she tries to sign up for S.S. and SS tells her that she may have some retirement befits from a company called "Dryden Engineering Company inc." (which started this whole thing apparantly) SS sent her papers, that on it say "year reported: 1984"

None of the 401k custodians have any record of her 401k. And none of the states the the companies were located in, or that she lived in has any lost property.

My father in law, a very cynical man, thinks the companies screwed her and embezzled the money.
I am starting to think the "401K plan" was never vested (because she didnt work for the company long enough), and it was entirely employer contributed ESOP plans. And therefore wasn't hers to keep when she left. Is this actually possible?
Any other thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Or if you might need more information, because you think you might have an idea, please let me know.
Thank again for your help everyone!

Please note, some of the years stated may be off by one or two years
Also, she has never received a 401k statement.