Last edited Fri Aug 21, 2020, 02:44 AM - Edit history (1)
http://www.401khelpcenter.com/faq/faq_19.html#.Xz7lqchKhuU
How frequent is my employer suppose to provide participants with account statements on directed retirement plans like a 401k?
Answer: Your employer must provided statements quarterly for participant-directed individual account plans and annually for all other individual account plans. The Department of Labor says that participant statements should be provided no later than 45 days after the end of the quarter.
The statement must include, among other information, the following: (snip)
On edit - OK, since he lost his job, he's not an employee, so I'm not 100% sure the above applies. But it is unbelievable to me that not furnishing regular statements to any 401k participant -- employed or not -- is legal.
Edited to add - an accountant, if also a tax prepararation professional (and not the type that works at those high-speed in-and-out tax preparation mills where they promise you the maximum refund and expect you to sign your return without looking at it) would be able to tell him the tax consequences of the actions he might take. But they aren't investment advice professionals unless they have additional credentials.
More edit - If the employer is not going to furnish statements, and/or is otherwise being an ahole, the next move would be to roll it over into an IRA at some reputable financial firm. The three I have extensive experience with are Vanguard, Fidelity, and Schwab. I rolled over a 401 K and an ESOP from my employer to Vanguard back around 1998 I'd guess it was, without a problem.
There are rules to follow in doing rollovers -- the best is a direct institution-to-institution from the employer to whatever firm he chooses to be custodian of the new IRA. IMHO, that's the only way it should be done.
All 3 of the above did a fine job dealing with inherited accounts (this was back in 2005). Fidelity had an excellent booklet on how to deal with an inherited IRA, and handled getting an inherited IRA account properly re-titled and all that just fine.
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