FAQs – Individuals

PenChecks helps Financial Institutions, Plan Sponsors, Third-Party Administrators (TPAs) and Advisors reduce risk, lower administrative costs, and increase efficiency. We also specialize in reuniting current and former employees with their retirement funds so they can make smart decisions to continue investing for their retirement.

Determining where to put your retirement dollars is an important decision. While PenChecks Trust cannot offer investment or tax advice, we can connect you with other financial service providers that can help you plan for your retirement goals.

1-800-541-3938

619-567-8084

PenChecks Trust
8580 La Mesa Blvd, Ste 101,
La Mesa, CA 91942

helpdesk@penchecks.com, myira@penchecks.com

PenChecks does not offer investment options and most accounts held by PenChecks cannot accept contributions.

An Automatic Rollover IRA is an account established by an employer for a former employee who left an account balance in the on‐going qualified retirement plan. These IRAs are designed to preserve the tax deferred nature of a former employee’s retirement savings.

There are a few possible reasons:

• Your current or previous employer contracted with PenChecks to assist in reuniting you with your retirement funds.
• We were selected by your employer or former employer to help process a retirement plan distribution you are entitled to.
• We were appointed as custodian of an Automatic Rollover or Missing Participant IRA established in your name because your former employer was unable to reach you to transfer your retirement account to you.
• The financial institution that previously served as custodian of your retirement account resigned and selected PenChecks Trust to be the successor custodian.

PenChecks is 100% directed by the Plan Sponsor or Administrator. If you do not complete your benefit election on or prior to the deadline, there are several possibilities of what may happen; your Plan may be entitled to force you and your benefit out of the Plan and may elect to establish and roll your benefit into an Automatic Rollover or a Missing Participant IRA on your behalf. If such events take place, additional fees may apply. Otherwise, your funds may be returned to the Plan, or PenChecks may contact the Plan’s administrators for further instruction.

A retirement plan participant may be considered missing if their previous employer attempted to contact them regarding their account but was unable to receive a reply with benefit election instructions before the set deadline.

My.Penchecks.com
My.benefitelection.com

Please contact PenChecks Customer Experience team at 1-800-541-3938 to request paper forms.

Yes, both terms refer to the same code.

Yes, please be sure to enter the PIN exactly as it appears on your letter.

PenChecks uses your SSN to verify your identity, to track your distributions and accounts in our records, and to file required State and Federal tax documents.

• All data at rest and in motion are protected with best-practice encryption mechanisms.
• Maintaining physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect your personal information.
• Restricting access to your personal information on a need-to-know basis.
• Ensuring that any personal information shared with third parties as necessary for standard business purposes is shared only as required or allowed by law.
• Upholding an information security infrastructure
• Using high-security data centers designed to host mission-critical systems, which are fault-tolerant and have no single point of failure, allowing them to operate continuously.

No, the site will not save your progress if you leave the page. You must complete and submit your benefit election for each distribution/account in one sitting, so before beginning, make sure you have all of your payment and rollover instructions prepared before logging in to the site. The following is a list of information you may need to gather:

• SSN
• First & Last Name
• Date of Birth
• Email Address
• Desired Password
• PIN (not required for Missing Participant accounts)
• Phone Number
• Mailing Address
• Institution Name
• Institution Address
• Bank Routing and Account Numbers, and Account Type (for ACH or Wire transfers)

Enter your name exactly as it appears in the notice you have received from PenChecks. Your name has been provided to PenChecks by your Plan’s administrator, and some administrators provide middle names to PenChecks, whereas others do not.

No, overnight mail is only delivered on weekdays, and may be delayed due to holidays.

No, FedEx, the overnight mail provider used by PenChecks, is not able to deliver letters to P.O. Boxes. A physical address must be provided.

Contact PenChecks Customer Experience (helpdesk@penchecks.com or 1-800-541-3938) who will request documentation in order to correct our records.

Click the blue arrow on the right-hand side of the page across from “Contact” to edit your address or phone number.

The requestor fee is a fee that your plan administrator requested be deducted from your balance and remitted to them.

Your distribution will be processed within a reasonable time frame after providing your benefit election unless your notice provides a specific timeframe. If there are any issues with your benefit election, PenChecks will contact you for more information. Generally, if PenChecks has your benefit election and the full funding amount for your distribution, your payment will be released within a few business days.

The IRS requires that any plans that have Joint and Survivor (J&S) provisions, require notarization and if the participant is married, their spouses’ signature. If you have received forms that require a notary, your plan has J&S provisions.

Maybe. Typically, distributions process within a few business days so we are often unable to make changes to your benefit election. We advise you contact PenChecks Customer Experience (helpdesk@penchecks.com or 1-800-541-3938) as soon as possible for assistance. Reissue fees may apply.

No, PenChecks is unable to determine the correct mailing address. We strongly recommend you verify your Rollover check instructions with the receiving institution to ensure they can receive your funds and credit them to the correct account. Incorrect check instructions may lead to delays and additional fees.

PenChecks is unable to determine who your rollover check should be made payable to. We strongly recommend you verify your rollover check instructions with the receiving institution to ensure they can receive your funds and credit them to the correct account. Incorrect check instructions may lead to delays and additional fees.

Unless you plan on having some of your funds distributed as a rollover, select “Full balance” for your “Cash lump sum” amount, then on a later page you’ll be able to split your cash lump sum between payments and provide instructions for each. Additional fees will apply to each portion of your payment.

It is faster to submit your benefit election electronically. Visit mybenefitelection.com or my.penchecks.com to get started.

PenChecks uses your Social Security number to identify your account.

Generally, PenChecks is unable to extend deadlines, as they are decided upon by the Plan Sponsor or Administrator.

No, PenChecks process all payments as quickly as possible, and we are unable to expedite your payment any further.

Yes, but tax consequences will apply. Please contact a tax specialist for more details.

Your reissue fee covers the costs necessary to reprocess your payment and correct the accompanying tax documents.

Once your instructions are received, your reissue will be processed within 5 business days. If there are any issues with your instructions, PenChecks will contact you for more information.

Yes, please contact PenChecks Customer Experience team at helpdesk@penchecks.com or 1-800-541-3938 to request a copy of your tax form.

The taxability of your distribution depends on the type of payment you take. Generally, cash lump sum distributions count towards your taxable income, whereas rollover distributions generally do not. Contact a tax professional or financial advisor for details on the tax consequences of your distribution.

If you are under 59 ½ at the time of distribution, you may be subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty. Some exceptions may apply, seek professional tax advice for help with your personal tax situation.

• State or Federal taxes have been withheld from your distribution.
• You rolled over qualified retirement funds to another qualified account. Typically rollovers are non-taxable events, but must still be reported.

PenChecks also processes forms 1099-MISC, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, and 1042-S which are all similar to, but different from 1099-R forms.
Each participant is sent their 1099-R form(s) in late January of the year following their distribution.

A Form 5498 is a required IRS tax form that all IRA custodians must provide annually to each IRA account holder. This Form 5498 acts as the annual statement for the IRA, reflecting any contributions made during the taxable year, a calculation of upcoming Required Minimum Distribution (“RMD”) if applicable, and provides the Fair Market Value (“FMV”) in your Default IRA as of 12/31. This same information is reported directly to the IRS on your behalf. This form does not represent a taxable event.

Pursuant to the U.S. Department of Labor regulations, Automatic Rollover IRA funds are invested in investment products designed to preserve principal and provide a reasonable rate of return.

Once your forms are received by PenChecks, your distribution will process in 7-10 business days. Otherwise, if PenChecks requires additional documentation to process your distributions, we will contact you within that time frame.

The USA PATRIOT Act (aka Patriot Act) is legislation passed in 2001 to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world. It is a requirement of the Patriot Act that all U.S. financial institutions have a CIP (Customer Identification Program) in place.

A Missing Participant IRA is like an Automatic Rollover IRA but applies in the situation where the plan itself was terminated or is in the process of terminating. This means there is no $5000 threshold, and all participant balances can be placed into the Missing Participant IRA.

myira@penchecks.com

It is possible that the employer plan could have terminated, or you were no longer eligible to participate in the plan. Contact your employer if you believe you are still a plan participant, and this transfer was processed in error.

Yes, though it is not advised as this account is for participants considered missing. There is no diversification of investments, no contributions, and it is subject to ongoing fees. It is advised you rollover to another qualified account where your assets can be better managed.

Your Default IRA will remain with PenChecks. There is no deadline to close this account, but keep in mind that the account is charged a monthly maintenance fee for every month the account remains in the Default IRA. Additionally, you will continue to receive an annual Form 5498 with information on your account.

The official statement for your account is the annual Form 5498. If you need a copy, contact PenChecks Customer Experience (helpdesk@penchecks.com or 1-800-541-3938) for assistance.

Please contact PenChecks Recurring Benefits team at 1-800-541-3938 ext. 5023.

Yes. Whether your check needs to be remailed to the same address or if your payment needs to be reissued differently, please call 1-800-541-3938 ext. 5023 for a change request form to complete.

Checks are dated the 1st of the month but are processed and mailed a few business days before the 1st business day of the month, so that they are either on their way or have reached the participant by the 1st.

ACHs are processed at least 1 business day in advance, so that the ACH date is the 1st business day of the month.

Some Plans have annual COLA (cost of living adjustments). Please contact PenChecks Recurring Benefits team at 1-800-541-3938 ext. 5023 for more details.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) increased First‐Class Delivery times effective October 1, 2021. We strongly suggest switching to ACHs to avoid any delays in mailing.

Yes, PenChecks can send you a copy of our Pension Verification Letter, or if you have been provided a form to complete, please send the form to  recurringbenefits@penchecks.com.

Each Plan’s COLA timing is different, please contact your Plan Sponsor for additional information.

Connecticut residents must complete and return form CT-W4P to provide instructions for their state tax withholding.

If you would like to request a copy of the CT-W4P form via mail, email, or FAX please contact PenChecks Recurring Benefits team at 1-800-541-3938 ext. 5023.

If you report to Connecticut for State taxes and do not complete this form, your tax withholding will be the default rate at the time of the distribution.

Yes, you must complete and return a change request form by the 15^th of the previous month to ensure the change is effective by your next month’s payment. Please contact recurringbenefits@penchecks.com to request a change form.

Please contact PenChecks Recurring Benefits team at 1-800-541-3938 ext. 5023 to correct the spelling of your name.

You must complete and return a change request form by the 15th of the previous month to ensure the change is effective by your next month’s payment. Please contact recurringbenefits@penchecks.com to request a change form.

Yes, you must complete and return a change request form by the 15th of the previous month to ensure the change is effective by your next month’s payment. Please contact recurringbenefits@penchecks.com to request a change form.

To change your tax withholding election, you will need to complete a change request form. For both federal and state (except for Connecticut) tax withholding, participants may choose among the following which will apply to each regular payment:

• Opting out ($0 withholding).
• Withholding calculated using their gross payment amount and marital status (single, married, or married – withhold at higher single rate).
• Withholding a fixed dollar amount or percentage.

You must complete and return a change request form to provide new ACH instructions to reissue your rejected payment and process future payments.

Checks that are sent to an old, incorrect address can be stopped and reissued right away. Please contact PenChecks Recurring Benefits team at 1-800-541-3938 ext. 5023 to request a change request form and check reissue.

Participants must submit change requests for their payment or tax withholding instructions on or before the 15th of the previous month to ensure the changes are effective by their next month’s payment.

Please contact PenChecks Customer Experience (helpdesk@penchecks.com or 1-800-541-3938) for assistance. You will need the death certificate, any legal documentation that lists you as the beneficiary and personal identifying information for yourself. Additional documentation is likely required.

Yes, you’ll need to provide a certified copy of the death certificate, the Estate’s EIN, and any legal designation of beneficiary document.

Please contact PenChecks’ Recurring Benefits team at 1-800-541-3938 ext. 5023.

If a posthumous payment is made to a participant, and they do not have a beneficiary who is owed further payments under the Plan, an overpayment letter will be sent to their last known address to request the overpaid funds be returned.

If you are unsure whether or not you are a participant’s beneficiary, contact their Plan directly.