Retirement savings ‘lost and found’ helps locate old 401(k)s, pensions

Older workers and retirees who have lost track of retirement savings from a previous employer may benefit from a relatively new resource to help them reunite with those funds.

Of the 236,269 unique visitors who logged onto the Labor Department’s Retirement Savings Lost and Found database from its launch in late December 2024 through the end of 2025, about 29.5% — 69,712 — found an old 401(k), pension or other workplace retirement plan associated with their Social Security number, according to data provided to CNBC by the agency. 

The database currently only includes information that pertains to people age 65 or older.

While DOL doesn’t track what happens after that information is provided to the user — and notes on the website that a positive match is not a guarantee of money to claim — there’s a good chance that many of the users were reconnected with lost retirement funds, said Samuel Krause, a partner with Hall Benefits Law in Los Angeles whose practice areas include employee benefits and retirement plans.

“We may not be talking about any serious money, but of that [29.5%] who got a positive result, most of them” probably found an old account, Krause said.

As workers change employers throughout their careers, it’s possible for multiple 401(k) accounts or other retirement benefits to get left behind, intentionally or accidentally. The typical U.S. worker holds about 13 jobs between ages 18 and 58, according to an ongoing Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of people born between 1957 and 1964.

An estimated 31.9 million 401(k) accounts remain with former employers, totaling about $2.1 trillion, according to 2025 research from Capitalize, which helps people roll over workplace savings to IRAs. The data includes accounts that former employees intentionally leave in their old plan, for example, to take advantage of lower fees or stronger creditor protections relative to IRAs.

Be aware that if your balance is under $7,000 when you leave a company, your employer may roll over your balance to an IRA if you don’t take action yourself. If it’s under $1,000, the plan may cash you out and send you a check.

Depending on how often you switch employers, it’s possible to lose track of your savings and end up with multiple accounts that you’re overlooking when it comes to retirement planning. For example, companies can be acquired or go out of business, or they may no longer have up-to-date contact information for you.

“I always tell people to treat old retirement accounts like missing puzzle pieces,” said certified financial planner Melissa Caro, founder of My Retirement Network in New York City. “You can’t plan accurately if you don’t know what you own.”

The Labor Department said in a 2024 notice published in the Federal Register that it began building the database for an older age group because “such individuals are more likely to benefit sooner from a functioning database than other age cohorts.” In its most recent semiannual agenda, DOL indicated that it will propose regulations related to the information it collects for the database, including potentially broadening it.

“I’m hoping an expansion will include [any age],” said Tyler Compton, director and managing attorney for the Pension Action Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Compton said the database has been a useful tool for the center’s clients, who have found amounts ranging from about $350 monthly from annuities (due to old pensions) to 401(k) accounts worth roughly $20,000.

The DOL’s database only includes retirement benefits provided by private-sector employers or unions. Individual retirement accounts and plans sponsored by government entities or certain religious organizations are not listed.

You can only search for accounts tied to your own Social Security number, the website notes. In other words, you currently can’t search on behalf of your deceased spouse, although experts anticipate that will change at some point.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation runs a Missing Participants Program, which helps people whose plans have terminated. It does not track information on benefits or accounts tied to plans that are still in existence, which is what the Labor Department’s new database does.

You also can search for old retirement accounts, as well as security deposits, bank accounts and other financial property through your state’s unclaimed property program. The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators website includes a U.S. map with links to each state’s unclaimed property database. To search more than one state at a time, you can go to MissingMoney.com.