Find retirement money from a job you left.
Enter the employer and the years you worked there. We follow that employer's plans through public government filings to whoever holds the money today.
Losing track of an old account is common, and it isn't your fault. Paperwork gets lost when companies merge, plans close or you move. The money usually still exists.
- No Social Security number
- Free search and letters
- Flat-fee help, never a share
How it works
- Search by employer and years. We match the employer to its plans in 17 years of Department of Labor filings, including plans that merged, ended or stopped filing.
- Send the letter we draft. Federal law (ERISA) gives the plan 30 days to send your documents and 90 days to decide a claim. You sign and mail it yourself.
- Track the reply. Enter the date you mailed it. We show the deadlines, add them to your calendar and draft the follow-up letters if the plan goes quiet.
Who uses Attovar
You left a job
Short jobs, company mergers and small balances are where money gets lost. How to find an old 401(k)
Someone has died
Retirement accounts usually pass outside the will, so the estate inventory can miss them. The estate screen
You have your tax records
IRS transcripts show every payout and rollover of the last 10 years. Read them privately in your browser. Trace your records
Why plans lose track of people
Between 2004 and 2013, more than 25 million people who left a job left at least one account behind in a workplace plan, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO-18-19). Companies merge, plans close, small balances are moved out without asking, and the mail goes to an old address. The money usually still exists. It is held by a plan, a recordkeeper, an IRA provider or an insurer that does not know where you are.
So if you are only looking now, you are not late and you did nothing wrong. Plans must keep records of what they owe, and asking is your right.
Questions
Is this free?
Yes. The search, the report and the letters are free. If you want a case manager to check your match, prepare every letter, read the replies with you and draft each follow-up, that is a flat $79, refunded if we find nothing new. You still sign and mail the letters. We never take a share of money you recover.
Are you a financial adviser or fiduciary?
No. We give information and draft letters. We never hold, manage or advise on your money, and we never act on your behalf. Any money goes from the plan straight to you.
Did I do something wrong by losing track of it?
No. This happens to millions of people. Companies merge, plans close, recordkeepers change and letters go to an old address. Small balances are often moved out without anyone asking you. The plan still has to keep records of what it owes you, and you have a legal right to ask.
Why don't you ask for my Social Security number?
We don't need it. We search public filings by employer and years. The letter we draft leaves blanks for your personal details, which you fill in yourself and send directly to the plan.
Can you see my balance?
No. Plans report plan-level facts to the U.S. Department of Labor: mergers, transfers, who keeps the records, when a plan ended. Only the plan can tell you your balance. Our letter asks it to.
What if the company merged, closed or changed its name?
That is what we trace. When a plan merges or moves its money, the filings show where it went. We follow that path to the plan or company that holds the money today.
How is this different from the Department of Labor's Lost and Found?
Lost and Found searches by Social Security number among accounts that plans chose to report. We trace by employer through mergers, transfers and plans that stopped filing, which is where money is most often lost. Use both; they are both free.
Is Attovar a government site?
No. Attovar is run by Stressline Inc, an Ohio company. We use public data from the Department of Labor's Form 5500 filings. Free government help is listed on every report.