How to find a lost retirement account
I applied for and received Social Security widow’s benefits from my deceased ex-husband. Social Security notified me that my ex-husband had a profit-sharing plan that could have beneficiary money. I have tried to find out the correct people to talk to, but the employer has changed hands a few times. Do you have any ideas of people to talk to [in order to] find out if there is a beneficiary for his account?
Answer: There’s no national database for unclaimed retirement accounts, but there are a few places you can look. Companies with employee retirement plans are required to file a Form 5500 annually with the IRS, and these forms have contact information that may be helpful. You can try searching the U.S. Department of Labor’s site for the forms at efast.dol.gov. Another option is creating a free account at FreeErisa, which may help you find older plans. The Department of Labor also has an abandoned plan database at askebsa.dol.gov /AbandonedPlanSearch.
Your next step might be checking the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits at unclaimed retirementbenefits.com.
This database is run by a company that processes retirement plan distributions. Another place to try is the National Assn. of Unclaimed Property Administrators’ database at unclaimed.org.
Retirees and disability benef its
Dear Liz: I have a few simple questions about disability, but have been getting different answers from different advisors. My wife, a nurse, is 71 and has been working for more than 45 years. She is receiving Social Security benefits, starting when she was 70. She has been working in the office for 2½ days weekly for a few years with a salary of just over $50,000. She has progressive neuromuscular pain, with significant pain and discomfort in the right upper leg with radiation. It affects her most when she is sitting, which is how she performs her job. She is missing more and more time. Is she eligible for disability? If so, can she apply while she is still working, or does she need to have stopped completely? Will her Social Security affect or be affected by her disability? Is there a rough estimate as to the disability payments she may get if she is eligible?
Answer: Social Security’s disability benefit program is meant to provide a subsistence level of income for people younger than retirement age who can’t work. The average monthly Social Security disability payment is less than $1,500 a month. Benefits are granted only to people who are totally disabled, meaning they can’t work and their condition has lasted or is expected to last at least a year or result in death.
Social Security disability payments aren’t designed to supplement retirement benefits. Once a disabled person reaches their full retirement age, which is currently between 66 and 67, a Social Security disability benefit converts to a retirement benefit, says Christopher Lanfranca, a senior retirement analyst with Social Security Solutions, a claiming strategies site. Someone who applies for disability benefits past full retirement age probably would be given retirement benefits instead.
Liz Weston, Certified Financial Planner, is a personal finance columnist for NerdWallet. Questions may be sent to her at 3940 Laurel Canyon, No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604, or by using the “Contact” form at asklizweston.com.