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Beneficiary Asset Transfer Question

I was a beneficiary of a 401k plan and the plan participant passed away a few years ago, so assets were transferred to an account in my name. It was my understanding that there were 7 beneficiaries (including me) with equal percentages. I’m reviewing documentation I received at the time of the transfer and I received a “Confirmation of Beneficiary Asset Transfer” letter that states: “Based upon the participant’s beneficiary designations, you were entitled to 1% of (name of deceased plan participant) vested account balance, as of (date of the letter). As a result, a total of $22,483.41 was transferred to an account established in your name.” I understand that to mean that the total (vested) account balance in the 401k was therefore $2,248,410 and I received 1% of that which totals $22,483.41. I did not know/see the account balance of the plan participant before they died, I did not see any beneficiary documentation or will, and I was not involved in the probate process at all. That amount of over $2.2 million in the 401k seems extremely high for this individual, however I did not know their full financial situation. And I am struggling with how it says I received 1% of the balance if there were supposed to be 7 beneficiaries with equal percent. I get that there could be debts and expenses that may have had to be paid first which could have reduced my percent. But I do not believe this individual had debts. There could be some medical expenses but I believe they were insured all through the end of their life so I don’t think that would be significant, if any. I called the 401k retirement administrator company (where my acct is still held) and asked about the letter stating 1% and if I’m interpreting it correctly. They said the amount and percentages should be accurate as they go through multiple review and verification processes, but they couldn’t provide me any further detail about how I’m interpreting the “1%” and how that would mean the original 401k was over $2.2 million. Is there anything I’m missing or overlooking with my understanding of the language in this letter? That fact that I received $22k and it states it was 1% of the balance, means the balance was $2.2 million... I don’t know how to interpret this any other way? Then the fact that I received 1% of that means there was either a lot of debt/expenses that must have been paid before dividing up the remainder equally between the 7 beneficiaries... or the 7 beneficiaries weren’t listed as equal percent... or there was some other beneficiary payment(s) other than the 7 I am aware of. I could contact the executor of the estate who handled the whole process, but I’d like to make sure I am understanding all the facts I have correctly first. And I don’t want to begin questioning the process yet if there is some clear explanation or something I have misinterpreted. submitted by /u/lloydbraun11 [link] [comments]

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