Orphan Plans - Part III (Posted July 15, 2004) Technical Tip 43: The following question and answer are from the DOL/EBSA website: The DOL has initiated a national program for identifying orphan plans and for ensuring that the benefits in those plans are distributed to participants and beneficiaries. A description of that program has been posted on the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) website. Three DOL Q&As are based on that posting. The third question is: Has the EBSA’s orphan plan project been successful? Since the project began in fiscal year 2000, the Department has: Helped return $228.5 million to workers and plans Opened 843 civil and criminal investigations Located existing plan fiduciaries to take over management of plans, and Obtained appointment of 74 independent fiduciaries to wind down plan operations and distribute retirement benefits to participants. In one recent case, the Department obtained the appointment of an independent fiduciary to manage and distribute approximately $236,000 in assets to 65 participants of a retirement plan for law enforcement and security officers. The independent fiduciary conducted an accounting of plan assets, collected outstanding contributions owed to the plan, verified who was eligible to receive benefits and obtained court permission to make distributions. Comment by the RLR&C ERISA attorneys: When participants or service providers determine that a plan has been -- or may have been -- orphaned, they should contact the EBSA through either calling the toll-free number of 1-866-444-EBSA (3272) or by emailing the EBSA at www.askebsa.gov. Alternatively, the director of the local region of the EBSA could be contacted. Contact information is on the DOL’s EBSA website at www.dol.gov/ebsa. We have recently been retained by a plan provider which has over 25 orphan plans using its investments and services. To facilitate the coordination with the DOL, we have developed, in cooperation with the DOL, a set of standard procedures for the handling of those plans. View all Tips © 2012 Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen, a Professional Corporation Important notice: Answers are provided as general guidance on the subjects covered in the question and are not provided as legal advice to the questioner's situation. Any legal issues should be reviewed by your legal counsel to apply the law to the particular facts of your situation.