401k where or who do i go to for help to get my 401k the company i worked for claims to have no records.?

i have only one old paycheck from 2001showing 401k deduction. because the company said that they already did the payouts to who ever was enrolled. I did not recieve anything. I searched in 401k, investment, retirement & fraud websites. Found no results for my situaton. Pls. help

fyi i already contacted the company their state they have record of a 401k for me. however ionly have one paycheck stub from this company which show 401k deduction. i received paychecks every 2 weeks. i worked for this small company from1998 to 2001. The owner/husband of this company passed away and it was his wife/newowner i dealt with.

There are a few factors that can play into a final answer.
1. Was the deduction an employer contribution for which you never became fully vested.
2. Did the company have the correct address or any way to contact you? They are allowed to move small assets into a forfeiture account if they have made a good faith effort to contact you.
I could go on, but all in all most companies are very good about tracking assets and distrobutions. Remember they are highly regulated.

Hopefully your 401k was with an independent investment company (such as Fidelity). Find out and approach that investment company with your problem.

It is strange that your company said they made payouts to whoever enrolled. My understanding is that you have to specifically ask for the payout by filing and signing paperwork, then get a check from them. You then pay a hefty tax penalty (10%) to IRS for early withdrawal (if you are not above 59.5 yrs of age), because 401k is a retirement account. Most people rollover their 401k directly to an Individual Retirement Account in a bank or an investment company when they leave a firm. That way they don't pay withdrawal tax penalty and know exactly where their money is located.

You may want to go to the IRS website and get an idea
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/participan...

You can also call IRS and explain your problems. They might be able to help you best, because they are supposed to have records from your company. It might help if you have your employer's EIN # /Federal Tax ID # when you speak with IRS. You can find the ID number on the W2s that you got from the company for filing tax returns.

Good luck, and I hope you get your money back.

Go to your human resources department and ask again.

Don't be rude or threatening. If they don't give you straight answers, get an attorney.

I would call the company that held (not your former employer) the 401k directly and tell them you have check stubs proving you had a 401k and you want a statement of what is (or was) in the account. If you truly had an account and just let it sit and never contributed to it after 2001 you may have no money left. The stockmarket has been volitile and you may have lost everything.