When Tina Holt switched jobs back in September, there was a gap between the time one job ended and the new one began.
"I decided to go ahead and cash out my 401 so that I had, you know, money to tide me over between and everything," Holt said. Holt submitted her request to Mutual of America, the company that managed her 401 account. Holt received confirmation of the request via email which stated,"We received your information and if you requested a direct deposit, you'll have it within five business days."Holt made numerous calls to find out what was causing the delay, saying,"Almost 40 times in two months, just constantly because I would sit on hold for 2 or 3 hours and then it would disconnect me.
While waiting for the money, Holt faced another challenge as she suddenly had to take in three children. "My 11-year-old granddaughter had just lost her mother to suicide and I had taken her in. I found out that her two siblings were put in foster care. I was desperate and under a financial strain and the stress of changing jobs, the stress of taking in three kids who had nothing," Holt said.
Two months for someone to get their money? This should absolutely be escalated to regulators. As someone who has worked in financial services for a long time, this is unacceptable. System conversions should not leave customers high and dry for months. Also, a BS apology.