The Department of Labor (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-01 announcing a temporary enforcement policy related to state unclaimed property funds. Under the policy, the DOL will not take action against fiduciaries who transfer retirement benefit payments (including uncashed checks) of $1,000 or less owed to missing participants to a state unclaimed property fund. The benefit value includes rollover contributions but not the amount of any outstanding plan loans.
To qualify for the enforcement relief, the following conditions must be met:
- The plan fiduciary must determine that the transfer to a state unclaimed property fund is a prudent destination for the benefit payments.
- The plan fiduciary must have used a program to find missing participants consistent with the DOL’s Best Practices for Pension Plans but must have been unable to locate the individual.
- The plan fiduciary must select the state unclaimed property fund offered by the state of the last known address of the participant or beneficiary.
- The state unclaimed property fund must qualify as an “eligible state fund” by meeting the nine conditions listed in the Field Assistance Bulletin.
- The summary plan description must explain that retirement benefits of missing participants or beneficiaries may be transferred to an eligible state fund and provide a plan contact for further information.
The DOL will still enforce existing ERISA requirements to maintain proper records. In addition, this policy does not affect the rights of other parties, such as participants who might bring a claim for benefits. It also does not change the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s guidance on disposing of benefits for terminating defined benefit plans. As a result, transfer to a state unclaimed property fund is not an option after a plan sponsor has resolved to terminate a plan.
The DOL intends to consider more formal guidance on these types of transfers to state unclaimed property funds in connection with the new SECURE 2.0 Retirement Savings Lost and Found.
Going forward
The DOL’s temporary enforcement policy gives fiduciaries an additional option for handling small outstanding retirement benefit payments owed to missing or nonresponsive participants and beneficiaries. Plan sponsors may wish to consider unclaimed property transfer alongside other options for disposing of small benefits, such as automatic rollover. These options should be discussed with legal counsel to make sure that fiduciaries don’t inadvertently violate earlier guidance published by the DOL on this topic.
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