Consumer Agenda for Retirement Security

Initiative #2: Empower workers to promote their own retirement security

G. Establish a clearinghouse for lost retirement plans and for orphan plans.

Because companies often move, change their names, or are bought and sold, a great many people have difficulty locating their plans when it comes time to apply for their retirement benefits.  In addition, some plans are abandoned, when an employer goes out of business, particularly small employers whose owner may have relocated or died.  When plans are “orphaned,” there is typically no one with authority to pay benefits.  The Department of Labor has creatively addressed this issue by allowing “adopted” trustees to pay benefits, but the solution is not perfect and can be expensive.  Moreover, orphan plans sometimes raise tax and PBGC issues.  Congress should enact legislation authorizing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to (i) create a clearinghouse for difficult-to-locate plans and (ii) take over administration of orphan plans to ensure that all benefits are paid.1


Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the PBGC is charged with accepting transfers of accounts of participants that the plan cannot locate.  But this provision does not fully address the problems of orphan plans and participants who cannot locate their plans.

Learn more about the other initiatives in the Consumer Agenda for Retirement Security.

Initiative 1: Promote a more adequate and secure private retirement income system.
Initiative 2: Empower workers to promote their own retirement security.
Initiative 3: Improve retirement savings plans.
Initiative 4: Improve traditional and hybrid pension plans.
Initiative 5: Make retirement plans fairer for workers and their spouses.

Print the Consumer Agenda for Retirement Security [PDF].