Ask a Lawyer - Archive

Protecting Your Retirement Plan Contributions Thomas Pedreira

The company that I work for has not been depositing my 401K monies; what can I do?

-- Bonnie

A. 

This sounds like a potentially serious problem, regardless of what type 401k contributions you are talking about. There should be a plan administrator and a first suggestion would be to contact them to see what is going on. You should also have a copy of or would be able to get access to the 401k plan documents that would further delineate your rights. Ask the plan administrator for a copy of relevant documentation if you can't find a copy elsewhere. Look through the documentation to get a better idea of what your rights may be.

There is a comprehensive body of federal law known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") that may give you a number of rights and remedies if contributions have been wrongfully withheld by your employer. If you don't get some satisfactory answers from the employer to address your concerns right away, you should go see an attorney without further delay. Try looking for someone who specializes in retirement plans and ERISA matters.

-- Thomas Pedreira