401k withdrawal

[tobrenda]

What is the name of your state? Florida
I requested a withdrawal on my 401k and was initially told that the firm that is responsible for the accounting was experiencing problems and they would get back to me as quickly as possible. No reply. I phoned them again and was told same thing except this time they said they had 2 days to respond. After the 2 days, no response, so again I called. This time they say that their is nothing they can do until problem with accounting is fixed and it could be a week or more. In the meantime, i have lost because of market losses. Is this fair? I am eligible for the withdrawals and they agree, but they can't do it at this time.

 

[loku]

If they have not responded to your request in the time mentioned in your contract with them, if such a time is spelled out, or if they have not responded within a reasonable time (probably they have not), then they would be liable to you for any loss their tardy response cost you that you could prove. You could tell them of this, if they do not reimburse you, you could take this to The U.S. Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, which is the agency charged with enforcing the rules governing the conduct of plan managers, investment of plan assets, reporting and disclosure of plan information, enforcement of the fiduciary provisions of the law, and workers' benefit rights. You can find their closest office to you with the map at this link: http://www.dol.gov/pwba/AboutPWBA/org_chart.html#section13

 

[tobrenda]

Thanks for the information--i just called them again today for an update and now they are telling me that the reason I can't get a withdrawal is that the original company changed accounting companies and since I am not an active participant, they don't have an policy in place yet for withdrawals as a non participant. they are working on it and hope to have one in place soon. Are they allowed to change provisions without notifying you first? Previously the provisions allowed 3 withdrawals /yr. and no more than 1 per month. Now they are saying none until they make provisions which allow it again.

 

[loku]

I think they do have to notify you if they change their policy, and they certainly did not notify you prior to your claim. I think you should definitely contact the U.S. Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and ask them to look into this.