Way, way Off topic...trying to help

[Leon]

Hey Guys (and girls),
I very rarely post a way, way off topic thread but I am trying to help a homeless veteran who is in a class I give each week. He said he worked for a company in N.Little Rock AR, back in the 1975-1979 time frame. That company, Williams Plastics, supposedly got bought by American Plastics. They in turn might have been acquired by someone else, as a quick search showed their number to be disconnected. This person said he had put some money into a 401k and didn't ever get it out. So, I am trying to help him track down the place that might have it or at least find out for sure that there is nothing. I have his SSN and DOB and full name.....Is there a central repository for something like this that I could check for him? Thanks for any help....and thanks for bearing with me on a very off topic thread. Just for this I will start at least one good thread before end of the day.

[Bocabirdman]

Leon, if you search, you should be able to find an agency for unclaimed property in Arkansas. His name and the town where he lived at that time should lead to the money if there is any. One caveat though, I am not sure how many years they keep it there before the state claims it. I recently snagged 1500 dollars worth of stock that wound up there from my late mother-in-law's estate, from the Massachusetts version.

[Bocabirdman]

How Long Do I Have to Claim my Property?
Your right to claim your property is never extinguished.. Unclaimed property always belongs to the rightful owner. The state auditor acts only as a custodian of the funds. No time limit is set for claiming these funds and the state auditor never charges an owner or heir for returning the funds.

Leon this is a quote from the F&Q from the link below

http://auditor.ar.gov/unclaimedProperty/Pages/generalFAQ.aspx

[Bocabirdman]

https://www.unclaimedretirementbenefits.com/


This link is for a registry of unclaimed retirement benefits

[nolemmings]

You should probably speak to an ERISA lawyer. I am concerned that the funds you described were actually used in a 401K plan-- it is my understanding that such plans were not authorized until 1978 and came into vogue with the larger corporations a year or more later, which makes me wonder if your gentleman's employer even participated during the time frame you mentioned.

ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) was enacted in late 1974, and governs private pension plans. Among its objectives is to provide disclosure of information to the employee participants in private pension plans, usually through Summary Plan Descriptions and statements of periodic account activity. A Plan Administrator would be responsible for this type of information, and an ERISA lawyer may be able to help ascertain who that was and whether/when it might have changed. If your veteran was employed through a union, that entity also should be able to help track down the information.

If there was no 401K but instead a private employer-sponsored pension/retirement plan, a critical consideration will be whether such plan was what is called a defined-contribution or defined-benefit plan. The latter generally requires vesting (or would have at that time), and it is unclear whether your veteran was employed the requisite amount of time for vesting to occur. Again, an ERISA lawyer should be able to provide at least some general answers.

[sam majors]

An easy and helpful website is www.unclaimed.org It's the website for National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. I have recovered money and helped others search for theirs. Very easy to use!!

[lloydchristmas]

An easy and helpful website is www.unclaimed.org It's the website for National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. I have recovered money and helped others search for theirs. Very easy to use!!

Thanks for posting this! I was able to find some old worker's comp. checks for my Dad.