The Pension Retirement Centre (PRC), a nonprofit organization, has been offering free services to individual retirement plans for many years. The Centre encourages the development of a database of information about benefits employees are entitled to from previous retirement plans. As a result of the 2022 Safe 2.0 Act, the Ministry of Labor has created such a database.
If you believe you are entitled to assets on a retirement plan from a previous employment, it is your interest to access this “lost” database.
The database, now known as RSLF, is provided by the administrator of a retirement plan and is provided by approved third parties, such as planning record managers. Administrators should submit at least annually, but we recommend submitting them more frequently, such as in quarter.
The information submitted must identify segregated vested participants who are over the age of 65 and who may be paid benefits. It can also include information about the interests of the survivors.
To gain access to the database, you must provide a legal first and last name, date of birth, Social Security number, front and back copies of your driver’s license, and use your mobile device. If you don’t have access to your mobile device, there is an alternative (see login.gov).
After you provide that information, specify your email address and language preferences, you can access the information from the database after you have agreed to the “Usage Rules” agreement and followed the authentication procedure. Enter the employer’s name into what is called the WOW application and do a search to see if the database contains information from previous employers.
Some information in the database may be outdated and you have already received all the rewards you have been entitled to.
You can use PRC’s services to help if you are entitled to compensation from your previous retirement account and you believe that this information is not included in your database. If an ongoing pension counseling project is available where you can receive free legal assistance, you should ask a PRC representative. If you are not within the Pension Counseling Project Service Area, you may be able to receive free legal assistance from Pension Support America (Pensionhelp.org).
If you do not have these options, you can fill out a form available on PRC (Pensionrights.org), specify the statement of question, and specify the actions you have already obtained.
Conclusion: You can get support from the PRC through other alternatives, even if the Ministry of Labor’s database does not contain information about assets that you believe are eligible from your previous retirement account.
Elliot Raphaelson welcomes your questions and comments at rapelliot@gmail.com.
