401k help!

my state is UtahWhat is the name of your state?My state is Utah. I need to know if an employer that offers 401ks can take up to a year to get your money to you after you retire, also should this money be payed to you with a personal check from that employer? Should the 401k company pay this money.?

Thanks ua24k

Have you requested a total payout? I don't believe a payout is automatic, even if you retired. If so, a year seems like too long to me.

The payment would come from the fiduciary responsible for administering the plan, such as Fidelity or Mellon or whatever.

Benefits experts, please?

The answer to both questions is, it depends.

Depending on how the plan document is written with regards to payouts, it is legal to have the plan structured so that payouts are only made once annually, with everyone who termed during the previous year receiving payout at that one time. That means that if the payout is, for example on January 15 and you quit January 20, you'd have to wait a year for the payout. I do not believe the plan document can legally require you to wait any longer than a year. However I once took over administration of a plan that was structured that way (it got amended VERY soon after I took over); the plan document had been approved by the Feds and was managed by a VERY reputable company, so I can verify for certain that the year-long delay is legal. It doesn't happen often, but it can and does.

Specifically who manages the plan would determine who wrote the check, although I can't say I've ever heard of the check coming from the employer. While it's a bit unusual, if they're self administered I can't offhand think of any law it violates.

A PERSONAL check? Yes, that's bizarre. And it took a year?

Your 401(k) monies should be with an investment firm and they would be responsible for distributing your funds AFTER you had completed a Distribution Request.

Okay, I could be WAY wrong here and completely jumping to conclusions but it sounds as though the employer had not been making the 401(k) contributions required by their Plan Document and instead scaped up this poster's 401(k) money they had to distribute from general company assets or personal assets. Even if that's not the case, the way the funds were distributed is still highly peculiar.

ua, if you have concerns about your 401(k) funds and/or the manner in which they were held by the employer, contact the federal Department of Labor.202-693-4650

cbg, you're right that if the Plan were self-adminstered the check could come from the employer. But given the enormous fiduciary responsibility an employer would have if they self-admin'd their 401(k) Plan, I can't imagine any employer in their right mind would do so. Due to changes in the laws over the years, employers have put as much distance between themselves and the role of "Plan financial advisor" as is possible. But as you say, it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility.

All in all, it seems more likely something goofy is going on.

You're right about the fiduciary responsibility, and I agree there's an good chance something goofy is going on at least regarding the personal check. (I'm on firm ground on the years delay.) But if this is a small company, you would not BELIEVE some of the small companies I've seen that are frighteningly clueless about this kind of thing. I don't have any trouble at all envisioning a company of fifty or under (which is where most of my experience is) who honestly wouldn't give that a thought. I could tell you some horror stories - in fact, over the years, I have .