Retirement question

[LadyT1612]

I am asking this on behalf of my mother. She works for a doctors office whose company last year merged with one the big hospitals in the Northern KentuckY area. Since they would now fall under the Hospital and thier retirement plan, the prior company gave them the option of either rolling over their current retirement fund to the Hospitals or withdraw it so they can move it to a fund of thier choosing. My mom and many others she works with opted to withdraw thier money (she wants to move it to her credit union). They filled out the necessary paperwork and turn it in to thier prior employer. This was a year ago and they still haven't received their money. My mom says the prior employer will not sign the papers for the bank, their retirement fund is with, to release their money to them. They first said it would be available at the beginning of this year, then they told them that it would be this summer, now they are telling them that it will be December before they get their money. I'm just scared that my mom is going to end up with no retirement fund because the company keeps giving them the runaround. She recently received a statement of her account and she says the amount that was in their has decreased since the beginning of all this. My mom had been calling to ask questions, but they wouldn't answer the phone and they even told her to stop calling. Can they hold on to their money for this long? Is there anything they can do to get this company to give them their money?

 

[LadyT1612]

Can anyone give any suggestions?

 

[Patricia_Young]

Sorry, I missed this. Although there are rules in the plan about how long the third party administrator has to release funds in this situation, a year is too long.

I recommend she immediately contact the federal DOL and file an ERISA complaint, or at least discuss the situation with them.