Submitted by unthused t3_11ddqn9 in personalfinance
Roughly ~7 months ago my previous employer closed; I had worked there for nearly 20 years so that was pretty much the entirety of my adult job experience. Prior to closing, I made sure I had access to my 401k plan and that it was in my name, was reassured that I wouldn't lose anything as it was mine and not owned by the business, etc.
Started new job, got some mail from Voya who hosted the account and just tossed it in with my financial stuff to deal with later, since I was confident I had nothing to worry about and didn't need to actively intervene or do anything with it.
Then yesterday I get a 1099 in the mail from Voya listing the entire balance of my 401k plan.
I did not close it or cash out, I literally haven't touched the account. Have not gone through all my old mail yet. I have no idea what the normal process is when changing jobs since this is my first time, and I was under the impression the account would persist without my needing to do anything. I sure as hell do not have anywhere close to the money to pay for whatever taxes on it might be.
So before I have a mild panic attack (too late), what is my best course of action? Did closure of the company turn it into a normal savings account that is now taxable? Can I use funds from the account to pay the tax burden? (I absolutely can't afford it otherwise, so fingers crossed.)
I can't even ask the person who was responsible for these things anymore as they don't exist.
plowt-kirn t1_ja7zokj wrote
> Have not gone through all my old mail yet.
I'm a bit befuddled that you posted to Reddit rather than actually finding what you received from Voya.
If the plan was closed, it's entirely possible they sent you a check with the entire contents of the 401(k). In that case you had 60 days to roll it into another plan, such as an IRA. If you failed to do that, you may very well be out of luck and on the hook for the taxes.
But for goodness sake go open that paperwork and see precisely what they did.