DOL Requests Data for Lost and Found Database

Among the 92 provisions within the SECURE 2.0 Act, there is one that requires the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to create a centralized location where individuals can find lost or forgotten benefits, and to provide information on how to obtain those funds.

This provision serves two primary purposes:

1. Help reunite individuals with their earned benefits

2. Help retirement plan sponsors who are spending time and money trying to locate missing participants and risking fiduciary responsibility if they’re not making sufficient efforts to do so

Last fall, the EBSA said it needed plan sponsors to voluntarily turn over data. It specifically requested the name and social security number of any participant who is:

• Separated from service

• Owed a benefit from the plan

• Age 65 or older

Where to Submit

The EBSA has provided a Microsoft Excel template that can be uploaded to the Lost and Found website at lostandfound-intake.dol.gov. Sponsors, recordkeepers, and third-party administrators are all able to make submissions. Submissions should be made at least annually.

More information can be found on this fact sheet.

Background of Program Challenges

Plan sponsors submit Form 8955-SSA to report vested individuals who have separated from participating employers to the IRS. The IRS then shares this with the Social Security Administration, which informs individuals of their benefits when they apply for social security in retirement. Initially, it was thought this pre-existing information would be used to fill the database.

A problem arose, however, when the IRS informed the DOL that it cannot share taxpayer records, therefore shunting the EBSA’s ability to quickly build the resource—an issue that would require an act of Congress to resolve.