I thought I fired that guy?

In January of 2021, the US Department of Labor published compliance assistance release No.2021-01 regarding the investigation process and the errors that the DOL will look for regarding terminated vested participants. Sounds interesting right? For plan administrators, we frequently think that once an employee has terminated that most of our work with them is done.

Unfortunately, in the world of ERISA, that isn't the case. Many former employees keep their balances in the plan. Some do so well into retirement and past their required minimum distribution age. This can cause plan problems if those folks are not paying attention on those RMD's. This can also just cause everyday issues when trying to communicate with participants on plan changes, required disclosures and service provider changes.

It is up to the plan administrator to have a process in place to communicate with those folks and if the situation fits, to encourage them to rollover their assets to an IRA that will be easier for them to update and monitor outside of the construct of the plan. For all of the DOL's views on the matter, you can go here: