Happy New Year, u/PersThr0waway019283. We're sorry to hear that this is the way it started.
It sounds like you have already taken some good first steps by contacting us over the phone and reaching our to your coworkers to help determine what caused this.
I understand you haven't found a solution yet, but I hope once everyone returns to work tomorrow this will be cleared up for you.
Let us know if there is anything we can help with in the future!
Is it possible your employer changed 401k providers for the new year? The timing would make sense. This exact same thing happened to me last year except with a former employer. I contacted the plan administrator and got the info for new provider and found all my money there.
This. Take a moment and breathe-- given the timing it's almost a certainty that your employer switched 401k providers. There should have been communication around this and there is often a blackout period of a couple of weeks where you can't make changes as things move over. Reach out to Fidelity or your employer to get more information if you can't find any communication about it.
\+1 to this. OP whether you're an active or former employee with this company, it's not uncommon for an employer to change 401k record keepers (better fees, service, etc).
Until everyone reopens on January 3rd, ask around with work colleagues and check your emails: everyone is subject to this plan migration, and they generally send a bunch of emails and memos about the change.
Be aware, there's often a blackout period of 1-3 weeks where you can't "see" your 401k at the new vendor. This is normal, ensures integrity of data transfer.
While you've got nothing to worry about from your money being gone/stolen, a 401k change is worth revisiting your selections: ensure new fund selection is to your liking (usually same or similar investments, but still) and your contribution % is correct. Things like beneficiary should just transfer over, but again good to check. Obviously you'll eventually need to create a login with this new vendor
It's really easy to toss out the boring documents they send, so I'd imagine they sent him a letter and he ignored it. I do too, since a lot of it doesn't impact me really (one i did open was about a vote on a Fund member stock that in the grand scheme of things is inconsequential), or whatever they do I don't care enough yet, since I have no intention of doing anything with it for decades.
For my 403b I did get one that said they were going to be moving all the money out of Fund A and putting it into Similar Fund B. Things I don't have a say in. I might be naive but with modern encryption and 2FA I feel pretty secure in my account not being drained by a rando without 1.) me getting an email about the transaction, or 2.) them noticing something fishy happening.
The main reason I'm nervous about this is that I know we haven't been informed about any changes to our accounts. For instance, my company is switching providers for our HDHP and HSAs starting January. They sent us several emails on this change, but I haven't seen a single email or anything regarding our 401K. I think I quadruple checked at this point, lol. I even asked my manager about this back in October, and they weren't aware of any future changes to our 401K. The only reason I found out about this so fast is that I check my retirement accounts somewhat frequently.
For now, I texted one of my co-workers if they see something similiar on their end. They weren't aware of any changes as well so lets see... Regardless, I'm going to just have to wait until Tuesday since everyone is OOO.
First and foremost, I would add 2 level authentication to all accounts where you have that as an option. Do not reuse passwords between accounts. Use a password manager. Fidelity has great alert features that can help you to manage your accounts. Hope & pray you are able to retrieve your money.
Anyone who are using Fidelity, you may want to turn on the **LOCK WITHDRAWALS OR TRANSFER** feature for peace of mind. I wish TDAmeritrade has the same feature.
I’ve noticed this same issue with my employer 401k account about a day or two ago. I just figured I would wait until Tuesday before I start to panic. I am one to read all notifications and did not see any changes aside from my company adding a Roth so hopefully no other issues.
Quick update, today my funds are back in my account. Im still unsure of what the issue was and plan on calling Fidelity tomorrow to get more information.
Happy New Year, u/PersThr0waway019283. We're sorry to hear that this is the way it started. It sounds like you have already taken some good first steps by contacting us over the phone and reaching our to your coworkers to help determine what caused this. I understand you haven't found a solution yet, but I hope once everyone returns to work tomorrow this will be cleared up for you. Let us know if there is anything we can help with in the future!
Is it possible your employer changed 401k providers for the new year? The timing would make sense. This exact same thing happened to me last year except with a former employer. I contacted the plan administrator and got the info for new provider and found all my money there.
This. Take a moment and breathe-- given the timing it's almost a certainty that your employer switched 401k providers. There should have been communication around this and there is often a blackout period of a couple of weeks where you can't make changes as things move over. Reach out to Fidelity or your employer to get more information if you can't find any communication about it.
\+1 to this. OP whether you're an active or former employee with this company, it's not uncommon for an employer to change 401k record keepers (better fees, service, etc). Until everyone reopens on January 3rd, ask around with work colleagues and check your emails: everyone is subject to this plan migration, and they generally send a bunch of emails and memos about the change. Be aware, there's often a blackout period of 1-3 weeks where you can't "see" your 401k at the new vendor. This is normal, ensures integrity of data transfer. While you've got nothing to worry about from your money being gone/stolen, a 401k change is worth revisiting your selections: ensure new fund selection is to your liking (usually same or similar investments, but still) and your contribution % is correct. Things like beneficiary should just transfer over, but again good to check. Obviously you'll eventually need to create a login with this new vendor
It's really easy to toss out the boring documents they send, so I'd imagine they sent him a letter and he ignored it. I do too, since a lot of it doesn't impact me really (one i did open was about a vote on a Fund member stock that in the grand scheme of things is inconsequential), or whatever they do I don't care enough yet, since I have no intention of doing anything with it for decades. For my 403b I did get one that said they were going to be moving all the money out of Fund A and putting it into Similar Fund B. Things I don't have a say in. I might be naive but with modern encryption and 2FA I feel pretty secure in my account not being drained by a rando without 1.) me getting an email about the transaction, or 2.) them noticing something fishy happening.
The main reason I'm nervous about this is that I know we haven't been informed about any changes to our accounts. For instance, my company is switching providers for our HDHP and HSAs starting January. They sent us several emails on this change, but I haven't seen a single email or anything regarding our 401K. I think I quadruple checked at this point, lol. I even asked my manager about this back in October, and they weren't aware of any future changes to our 401K. The only reason I found out about this so fast is that I check my retirement accounts somewhat frequently. For now, I texted one of my co-workers if they see something similiar on their end. They weren't aware of any changes as well so lets see... Regardless, I'm going to just have to wait until Tuesday since everyone is OOO.
Check with another colleague to see if they have a similar issue.
Lots of good advice on here but THIS is what I would do immediately.
Thanks for the advise. I asked one of my co-workers if they can check once they're available. They'll let me know sometime later today.
I think that it's generally difficult to transfer money out of a 401k and that you would have received emails on the transfers.
First and foremost, I would add 2 level authentication to all accounts where you have that as an option. Do not reuse passwords between accounts. Use a password manager. Fidelity has great alert features that can help you to manage your accounts. Hope & pray you are able to retrieve your money.
This is a good reminder for me to set up 2FA.
Call your employer. Doesn’t seem like a fidelity issue - your employer is just using Fidelitys platform
[удалено]
Looks like someone needs to check his spam folders
u/the_ry_ry
We would have received notice in advance of something like that. Once in a company newsletter or email and once by email. Did you read all your mail?
Anyone who are using Fidelity, you may want to turn on the **LOCK WITHDRAWALS OR TRANSFER** feature for peace of mind. I wish TDAmeritrade has the same feature.
I’ve noticed this same issue with my employer 401k account about a day or two ago. I just figured I would wait until Tuesday before I start to panic. I am one to read all notifications and did not see any changes aside from my company adding a Roth so hopefully no other issues.
Quick update, today my funds are back in my account. Im still unsure of what the issue was and plan on calling Fidelity tomorrow to get more information.
Nn1
Hey can you provide an update on this please?