Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  01/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I turned in the required paperwork necessary to have my 401k distribution check sent out. The first check apparently went to the wrong address.. an old address and not the one on the actual form. After this incident, I was extremely patient with them and sent the info they needed to verify an address change. After waiting about another 2 weeks to have it reissused, I reached out to get an e.t.a. or a tracking number, only for them to tell me it was sent to another wrong address. When I asked how that happened I was told it got keyed in wrong in the most smug, nonchalant, and uncaring way I've ever heard. This is a very troubling time in the world where people are struggling to make ends meet even with full time jobs.. it is sad and disheartening that a 401k plan service can't even provide people with the money they worked for an are entitled to. Its been over 30 days since I put in my initial distribution form and they can't even give me a day to expect my check. They need their accreditation taken away and they need to be investigated. I'm really beginning to think that they don't have the money at all to send the check. Please look into this before someone else's distribution plan gets mishandled. This isn't the way to do business. Thank you.

  Business response

  02/14/2024

  The complainant (participant) held a retirement account through her former employer. The employer’s 401k Plan Document allows for participants who have separated employment to withdraw their funds at any time. Additionally, the Plan Document contains a separate provision that requires former employees to remove their funds from the Plan within a specific time frame.

  According to our records, we sent the participant a withdrawal form via email on September 21, 2023, upon her request. We received a response to that email with an inquiry on December 13, 2023, at 8:45 PM. We provided answers to her inquiry the next morning (December 14, 2023) at 8:12 AM. 

  Two months after the initial withdrawal form was emailed to the participant, (in accordance with the provision requiring former employees to withdraw their funds within a specific time frame) the participant was sent a notice along with a withdrawal form letting her know she had 30 days to request a disbursement from the Plan. The notice (copy attached) was mailed on November 20, 2023, to her address of record on the 401k account. The notice gave her 30 days to provide instructions, or a mandatory cash-out distribution would be sent to her address of record, less applicable federal and state withholding.

  Her address of record, provided by the employer, was an address in Greensboro, North Carolina

  Based on the cashout notice, and because we had not received any communication or instructions from the participant within the timeframe described on the notice, we processed a mandatory cash-out on December 29, 2023.  The funds were mailed to the same address on record.

  On January 3, 2024, PenServ received a completed withdrawal form via email from the participant with a different physical address. We notified her at that time that her distribution had already been processed and a check had been mailed to the address of record in North Carolina. She asked us to place a stop payment on the distribution issued on December 29, 2023, and requested we change her address. At that time, the trust company that held the participant’s funds and issued the original check required a 10 day hold before a new check could be issued.

  In order to safeguard the security of participant accounts, our procedure to update any address on file requires supporting documentation of the new address to be submitted. We received the proof of address on January 5, 2024, showing her new address in Dayton, Ohio. Unfortunately, when our team processed the address change, two digits of the street address were entered incorrectly, and this was not noticed upon review.

  A new check was issued to the participant on January 16, 2024, at the end of the hold period required by the trust company. On January 19, 2024, the participant reached out to our team to check on the status of the second check. The address change error was noticed on this date.

  Due to our error, we offered to send the funds via ACH to the participant so she could receive her funds faster. She provided her banking information on January 23, 2024, and she received the funds in her bank account the following day.
  In the customer’s statement of the problem, she said it had been over 30 days since she had sent us her initial distribution form. However, she emailed the form to us on January 3, 2024, after we had already issued a check on December 29, 2023, and made this complaint on January 23, 2024.

  Despite the unfortunate circumstances of the initial check having been issued prior to receipt of her request, the trust company’s required 10 day hold, and the error with her address change, the funds were deposited in her bank account within 14 business days of PenServ receiving her withdrawal request in good order.

  We acknowledge the delays were inconvenient for the participant and regret her request did take longer than a typical disbursement. However, we did make efforts to rectify the problems as timely as possible.

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