If you received a 401(k) plan refund check, here’s what to do

If you contributed to a 401(k) plan at work and received a refund for a portion of your contributions, then chances are your plan failed Internal Revenue Service compliance testing.

The reason a person receives a 401(k) refund check is most likely that the employer’s plan has failed one or both of these tests, which prevents the employee from contributing above a certain amount. And that occurs when eligible participants in the company’s 401(k) plan are not contributing enough of their income, and employers are not contributing a significant enough amount on the employees’ behalf, either.