Looking for lost retirement funds? A new law is aimed at helping to fix the issue!

If you’ve been looking for lost retirement funds, there could be help on the way, with a proposed law on the horizon.

U.S. Reps. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) and Seth Magaziner (D-Rhode Island) introduced the Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan recently, which would direct the U.S. Secretary of Labor to reunite workers with lost retirement funds from 401(k) accounts and IRAs.

Who loses retirement funds? It happens more than you might expect, with people leaving jobs and not transferring their savings accounts to their new employer — leading to lost retirement funds.

“Hardworking Americans deserve the retirement savings they’ve earned, but these savings are sometimes lost due to job changes. As a former Kansas State Treasurer, I know how unclaimed property programs protect and return lost assets in an efficient manner,” said Rep. Estes. “Working with Congressman Magaziner at the federal level to introduce this bipartisan bill will ensure forgotten retirement funds make their way back to their rightful owners, strengthening retirement security for millions.”

“Americans work hard and deserve every penny of the retirement benefits they’ve earned. As the former state treasurer of Rhode Island, I know firsthand that state unclaimed property systems are effective tools to help reconnect people with their benefits,” said Rep. Magaziner. “The Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan will build on these systems to ensure more workers receive what they earned and can retire with dignity.”

If the legislation passes, it will allow ERISA fiduciaries to pension plans could transfer unclaimed balances to a state’s unclaimed property fund. The fiduciaries would have to try to first contact the plan participant first.

The transfer would also have to be reported to the Department of Labor so it can be added to the lost and found database.

Estes and Magaziner have been working on this issue for a while, urging the Department of Labor to develop this nationwide regulation.

According to Estes and Magaziner, there are 29.2 million left behind or forgotten 401(k) accounts with $1.65 trillion in assets.

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