How can I find the federal ID number of Transamerica Retirement Solutions? Is this publicly available?

Thanks for the quick reply! I don't think I have a Form 5500 (at least I've never seen one), but I'll check my 1099-R from last year. Would the EIN also be on my quarterly statements from them, or just tax forms?

The EIN typically only appears on tax-related documents, not on quarterly statements. The 1099-R is your best bet if you have it. If it's not there, just call their customer service - they handle these requests all the time and can provide it immediately. The EIN isn't considered sensitive information since it's essentially a business's SSN and is publicly available. Another option is to check your Summary Plan Description (SPD) which your employer should have provided. Sometimes the EIN is listed there as well.

Does it actually work for retirement docs specifically? I've tried other document services before and they were useless with financial paperwork. How accurate is it with pulling the EIN from documents?

I'm hesitant to upload financial documents to random websites. Is it secure? How do you know they're not storing your sensitive info?

It absolutely works with retirement documents - that's actually what I used it for! It recognized everything from my Fidelity statements perfectly, including account numbers, contribution amounts, and that EIN I was looking for. The accuracy was spot-on. They use bank-level encryption for all uploads and explicitly mention they don't store your documents after analysis. I was skeptical too at first, but my accountant actually recommended it, which made me feel much better about the security. They're SOC 2 compliant which is the security standard for financial services.

Wait, I don't get it. How does this actually work? Do they just call on your behalf or something? What's the point if I can just call myself?

This sounds like total BS. How could some random service magically get you through phone queues when everyone else waits? Smells like a scam to me.

They don't call on your behalf - they basically navigate through the phone system and secure a spot in line for you, then call you when they reach a representative. Instead of you waiting on hold, their system does it. The point is you don't waste your time sitting on hold for hours. No magic involved - they use technology to navigate phone trees and hold queues more efficiently than a human can. I was skeptical too until I tried it with Transamerica and the IRS. The service actually originated for dealing with unemployment offices during the pandemic when wait times were insane. Definitely not a scam - it's been featured on NBC, CBS, and other news outlets.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll check the NAIC site and look more carefully at their website footer. I didn't think to look there. Do you happen to know if Transamerica uses different EINs for different divisions or if they have one main EIN for the whole company?

Large financial institutions like Transamerica often have multiple EINs for different divisions or subsidiaries. The retirement solutions division likely has its own specific EIN separate from their insurance operations. That's why it's important to get the exact one for the division that manages your retirement plan rather than just any Transamerica EIN you might find online. If you look at your plan statements carefully, check the very bottom of the pages or the legal disclosures section - companies often put their EIN in the fine print there.

Is it even legal for them to not make their EIN easily accessible? Seems shady that these big companies make basic info so hard to find.

It's actually completely legal - companies aren't required to prominently display their EIN on websites or marketing materials. The EIN is primarily for tax reporting purposes, so it typically only shows up on official tax documents like 1099s, W-2s, and regulatory filings. While it's public information that anyone can request, there's no law requiring companies to make it easily searchable on their websites. Most people only need it for specific tax situations, so companies don't prioritize making it super visible to general consumers.

That's a great suggestion about checking the HR portal! I never thought to look there. I actually still have access to my old company's benefits site since I'm a retiree, so I'll definitely check for the SPD documents. It would be so much easier than calling around or uploading documents to third-party services. Do you know if the EIN is usually in a specific section of the SPD, or do I need to read through the whole thing?