Is Your Employer Robbing You Blind?

Even though this is old news, I couldn’t believe what I read.  A company in Oak Park called Chicago Spectro Service Laboratory Inc. created phony statements every year and lied about the contributions they made to their employees’ profit sharing plan.  The result is that an engineer who worked for them for 30 years found out that instead of $200,000 he had nothing in his retirement fund. The engineer had to endure five years of litigation to get a settlement that paid him $3000 a month.  Apparently theft from 401ks and other pension plans is quite common in small companies where the plans are not audited. So what can you do about it?

1. Check your statements – Obviously, when your company actually fakes the statements this would not help.  However, you can still check for irregularities.  For example, does the contribution on the statement match what is deducted on your paycheck?  Some companies steal money by withholding your contributions.  Basically, they deduct the money from your check and never deposit it.

2. Know how much you are supposed to have – No matter what you invest in for your retirement plans, you should know approximately how much you have.  It could fluctuate according to the market, but any fluctuations that are larger than normal should be looked at.  It could be possible that your company withdrew money from your account.

3. Make sure your money is invested on time – Some shady companies do deposit their employees’ money, but they do it very slowly and collect the float on the money they take.  By law your money should be deposited into your account by the 15th of the month following the deduction.  Federal regulators are thinking of shortening this deposit period to seven days after the deduction because too many companies are waiting until the last minute and shafting their employees.

4. Check that your investment instructions are carried out - A recent case where an employee sued his company for mismanaging his 401k is due to the company’s negligence in carrying out his instructions to move his investments.  This kind of incompetence is pretty common, and you have to check that your retirement plan administrator follows your instructions through statements and paystubs.  For example, my hubby had to bug his HR repeatedly to get his 401k contribution percentage changed. The process should have taken just one or two paycycles, but instead it took about 3 months because his HR just neglected his request.

5. Take your money and run – It seems that quite a few companies raided their employees’ 401ks due to their own financial troubles.  If it seems that your company is dying out, it might be best to leave the company and take your money with you in a rollover IRA.  You have more control of your money with your own IRA and you have more investment options.

The good news is that most companies with more than 100 employees generally have their retirement programs audited yearly.  If your account is in a reputable financial firm such as Fidelity or Vanguard you also have less to worry about because these financial firms will do a lot to protect their own reputations. It is a shame that some employers would betray the trust of their employees and raid their nest eggs, but stealing and embezzlement is against the law  and if you discover such illegal activity you should blow the whistle for the good of your retirement.

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