On April 15, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a notice outlining its proposal to collect information from retirement plan administrators to populate the Retirement Savings Lost and Found database. The notice also details the proposed timeline for providing this information, as well as the method of submission.
Section 303 of the SECURE Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) directs the DOL, in consultation with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, to establish the Retirement Savings Lost and Found by December 29, 2024, two years after the law’s enactment. This online database will allow people to find the administrator of a plan in which they were a participant or a beneficiary. The driving force behind the Retirement Savings Lost and Found is to help address the ongoing problem of missing participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Originally, the DOL planned to use the data reported on the Form 8955-SSA submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), because much of the requested data is provided on this form. However, due to concerns related to the disclosure of confidential information under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 6103, the IRS declined to share that content with the DOL.
Comments on the proposal are due by June 17, 2024.
Data to be collected
Participation in this information collection is voluntary. Information is to be collected on the following individuals:
- Separated vested participants
- Participants whose benefits were transferred to individual retirement accounts (IRAs) under the plan’s mandatory cash-out provisions (i.e., under $5,000, or under $7,000 if amended under SECURE 2.0)
- Participants whose benefits have been transferred to an annuity provider
The DOL expects that much of this data would be readily available and does not impose any new or additional recordkeeping requirements. Plan administrators are encouraged to “provide historic information from the date the plan first became subject to ERISA or as far back as possible, if shorter.”
| Data elements | Vested participants | Mandatory cash-outs to IRAs | Annuity transfers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan identification: The plan name and plan number as shown on the most recent Form 5500, and any previous names and plan numbers, including the dates of change. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Plan administrator identification: The plan administrator’s name, employer identification number (EIN), mailing address, and telephone number as shown on the most recent Form 5500, as well as the names and EINs for any previous plan administrators, including the dates of change. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Plan sponsor identification: The plan sponsor’s name, EIN, mailing address, and telephone number as shown on the most recent Form 5500 (if different from the plan administrator), as well as the names and EINs for any previous plan sponsors, including the dates of change. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Participant identification: The participant’s name, date of birth, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and Social Security number (SSN). | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IRA identification: The name and address of the designated trustee or issuer of the IRA to which the mandatory cash-out was made and the account number for the participant. | Yes | ||
| Annuity contract identification: The name and address of the issuer of the annuity contract, along with the participant’s contract or certificate number. | Yes | ||
| Benefit information: The nature, form, and amount of the participant’s benefit. | Yes | ||
| Lump sum information: If the participant was fully cashed out, the distribution’s date and amount paid. | Yes | Yes, amount only | |
| Retirement benefits: If the participant is receiving annuity payments, their benefit commencement date and monthly benefit amount. | Yes | ||
| Participants at or past normal retirement age: The name, date of birth, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and SSN of participants who are at or past the plan’s normal retirement age, have not started receiving benefits, and either: • The participant has been unresponsive to plan communications • The plan administrator believes the participant’s contact information is no longer accurate. |
Yes | ||
| Beneficiary information: The name, date of birth, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and SSN of any designated beneficiary of the participant. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Transferred benefits: If benefits have been transferred to this plan from another plan, the name and plan number of the former plan, along with the date of transfer. | Yes |
When and how the data would be submitted
For the initial data collection, administrators would submit the information as an attachment to the plan’s 2023 Form 5500, using the DOL’s EFAST2 system.1 While submitted concurrently, the attachment will not be considered a part of the Form 5500 filing. The agency is also looking at a possible alternative of submitting the data directly to the Retirement Savings Lost and Found database through the creation of a separate portal. The agency “will provide the spreadsheet file template (CSV format), and intends to make available a model format that plan administrators could use to submit the information.”
The notice did not specify when or how plans would provide information after 2024.
Data security
Because of the sensitive nature of the data being collected, the DOL is implementing various measures to ensure the data remains secure. The notice states that “a public user will have no access to sensitive data. Government access to the data will also be strictly controlled, which will be encrypted both at rest and in transit. The database will implement extensive logging and monitoring mechanisms, and sensitive data masking techniques will be implemented to mask personally identifiable information.”
Please contact your Milliman consultant with any questions.
1 The Form 5500 is generally due seven months after the end of the plan year, with a one-time 2½-month extension allowed. For calendar year plans, the 2023 Form 5500 is due July 31, 2024, or October 15, 2024, if on extension.