Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Monday 1 april 2019
A25

Finding your lost retirement money

By SARAH SKIDMORE SELL abandoned plans: www.
Associated Press askebsa.dol.gov
No one wants to lose -The Pension Benefit Guar-
money, particularly for re- anty Corp. is a federal
tirement. But it happens agency in charge of insur-
— people lose track of, or ing private-sector pension
don’t know they have, re- benefits. If the plan is in
tirement accounts. trouble, the PBGC steps in.
It’s surprisingly easy to do. The PBGC said there are
People switch jobs, move, more than 80,000 people
change names and the who earned a pension
company or plan provider who haven’t yet claimed it.
loses track of them. Or an Those unclaimed benefits
employee can’t keep track total over $400 million dol-
after a company is sold or lars, with individual benefits
a plan is terminated. Some ranging from twelve cents
people don’t even know to almost $1 million. The
they were eligible for a agency provides informa-
pension, didn’t realize they tion over the phone and
were vested or were un- online, including a search-
aware they were automati- able database: www.
cally enrolled in a 401(k). pbgc.gov
While an employer should -State Unclaimed Property:
inform employees of their In this Feb. 12, 2019, file photo pedestrians pass beneath City Hall in Philadelphia. In some cases, the money
options when leaving, em- Associated Press is handed over to a state’s
ployees sometimese forget plan behind when they left mentation can help if the cannot find them, search unclaimed property divi-
to complete the paper- a job. process proves difficult. In the Department of Labor’s sion. Each state maintains
work, said Thomas Nee, co- Here are some tips on track- some cases, the hunt to website of Form 5500 filings its own database but the
founder of Compass Point ing down lost benefits: find and claim benefits can to find out if they are still in website missingmoney.
Retirement Planning. There CHECK YOUR PAPERWORK become very complex and business. This form should com, created by the Na-
is also little requirement or If you have paperwork on take years, particularly if a have contact information tional Association of Un-
incentive for companies or an old pension, 401(k) or company has been sold for the plan. claimed Property Admin-
plan providers to find ben- other retirement plan, this more than once over the GET HELP istrators, can also provide
eficiaries. is a good place to start. years, said Karen Fergu- There are a bevy of data- information about each
There’s no exact measure Contact the company that son, director of the Pension bases and organizations state’s programs.
of how many unclaimed manages the plan and go Rights Center. that can help you find ben- -Social Security Administra-
benefits are out there. But a from there. CONTACT YOUR OLD EM- efits and provide direction: tion: The SSA will provide a
report released last year by In some cases, you may PLOYER -The Department of Labor’s notice alerting you to po-
the Government Account- want to grab old taxes, The next step should be Employee Benefit Security tential benefits when you
ability Office states that be- W-2s or other employment- contacting your old em- Administration (EBSA) pro- are ready to claim Social
tween 2004 and 2013 more related documents while ployer to request informa- vides help over the phone Security, but the notice
than 25 million people left you’re digging through tion about what retirement and online, including a does not guarantee those
at least one retirement the paperwork. This docu- benefits you’re due. If you searchable database for funds are still there.q

Thinking ahead: How to prepare next year’s tax filing now

By SARAH SKIDMORE SELL their correct withholding but there are still some out
Associated Press amount. there for the taking. q
If you weren’t happy with SAVE FOR RETIREMENT
your tax bill this year, or If you set more aside for
you’re worried about next your future retirement,
year’s, this is the time to it can actually help you
take action. on your taxes now. That’s
CHECK YOUR WITHHOLD- because money put in a
INGS 401(K) account is pretax,
If you do only one thing, thereby lowering your in-
review the withholdings on come level. There are also
your paycheck. tax breaks for contributing
The tax overhaul changed to IRAs and other retire-
how much employers with- This Feb. 13, 2019, file photo shows multiple forms printed from ment accounts.
hold from paychecks. If the Internal Revenue Service web page that are used for 2018 So check to make sure you
you withhold too much, U.S. federal tax returns in Zelienople, Pa. are contributing as much
you are due a refund. If you Associated Press as possible to your retire-
withhold too little, you owe. year but were surprised at this year. You can change ment plan, said Dave Du
While the government tax time. your withholdings at any Val, chief consumer advo-
urged people to review The IRS urges all taxpay- time. Waiting means fewer cacy officer at TaxAudit.
their withholdings to make ers to do a “Paycheck pay periods to withhold DON’T OVERLOOK DEDUC-
sure they were up to date, Checkup” now so that if a the necessary federal tax. TIONS
few did. As a result, some withholding adjustment is The IRS has a withholding Yes, the tax overhaul did
people got more money needed, there is time for calculator on its site, which away with or limited a num-
in their checks during the it to happen more evenly will help people determine ber of popular deductions