Retirement Plan Paperwork Retention

What paperwork do you need to keep and put together for your retirement plan?   Everyone has different organization requirements, but I will share how I handle my paperwork.  For those of you who prefer digital formats, you can scan all of the documents below onto your computer.  You will also want to retain a back up either electronically or in paper format.  Since we are often updating electronic formats over time, it is very likely that if you store the information as a pdf today, you may not be using pdfs in the future.  Please keep in mind that you may need to update formats as time passes.

As a another caveat, many participants no longer receive paper copies.  You should still be able to save all of this data from the websites you use.  Whether you want to print out a paper copy is entirely up to you.   If you are unable to find the information below, you may just want to set up a filing system going forward.  I would encourage you to go ahead and request a Summary Plan Description (SPD) from your employer.  I will discuss this document in greater detail in future posts.

I create multiple files filed under the specific retirement plan.  As an FYI, I also do a similar file for IRA's.

The first file is for "Elections":

Enrollment/Investment Election Form

Beneficiary Form

Changes to Salary Deferrals

The second file is for the following summaries that participants receive of "Plan Documents":

Summary Plan Description

Summary of Material Modifications

The third file (or files) is for "Participant Statements":

Annual Statements or Statements for the Full Year

Personally, after I confirm the annual statement is correct, I shred trade confirmations and since I receive an annual statement, quarterly statements.   

How long do I keep the data?  Generally, I would keep all of the information above indefinitely for my current employer.  If you are in a situation where you may return to work for the same employer, I would also retain everything until you either do or that seems unlikely to happen.

If you leave your account open after leaving your employer, I would retain the Plan Documents and Annual Statements folders.  Please also note that you will need to confirm that you are updating your statements with your current mailing address.  Often times, statements have an administrator phone number you can call.  Or you can make the changes online.  In other cases, you may make the changes directly with your former employer. With the current economic climate, you will want to update any statements that are out of date as soon as possible.  Many participants become "lost" through employer mergers and acquisitions due to out of date addresses.

If you have already taken a payout from your account and closed it, confirm everything was done properly on your account.  As long as you agree with the payout and believe no additional funds are due you, I would retain no more than the last statement from the plan.  I add it to my rollover documents.   If you did not roll over the data, I would consider adding it to my tax records for the applicable year(s).  

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