Former participants in the Frontier Communications 401(k) plan who want their share of a $14,050,000 class-action settlement moved into a retirement account, rather than mailed as a check, must submit a rollover form by Dec. 8, 2026. The deadline applies only to those who choose a rollover. Former participants who do nothing are scheduled to receive a paper check instead.
The case is Reidt v. Frontier Communications Corp., No. 3:18-cv-1538-RNC, a retirement-plan class action tied to the Verizon stock fund in Frontier’s 401(k). The settlement covers participants and beneficiaries who invested in that fund between Dec. 12, 2012, and April 30, 2018, along with alternate payees under qualified domestic relations orders, the court orders that split a plan account in a divorce. The settlement lists about 12,029 class members.
Who has to act depends on whether the person still has money in the Frontier plan. Current participants with a positive balance get their payment as an automatic deposit into the plan account, and no form is needed. Former participants are the group facing the December date, and even they have a choice rather than a requirement.
A former participant who held the Verizon stock fund during those years, and who received a settlement notice with a claimant ID and access code, now has one decision to make. A rollover request has to be in by Dec. 8. Without one, the payment comes as a paper check mailed to the address the administrator has on file, so anyone who has moved since leaving Frontier has a second reason to look at the notice now.
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Who has to send the form back?
Only former participants who want a direct rollover to a qualified retirement account need to submit the form. According to the settlement summary, former participants automatically receive a check unless they ask for the rollover.
That distinction matters for anyone who assumes a missed date forfeits a share. On the terms published so far, the date decides the form of the payment, not whether a former participant is paid. Plan participants who are unsure which group they fall into can look at the notice mailed to them, which carries the personal claimant ID.
What does the $14.05 million cover?
The settlement fund is $14,050,000. The terms say no class member receives less than $10. If a calculated share falls below that floor, the administrator raises it to $10 and adjusts the other allocations proportionally.
The class definition and the claims process are laid out in the long-form class notice posted by the administrator, Rust Consulting Inc. The settlement is the product of an agreement between the plan participants and the defendants, and it has not yet been finally approved by the court.
Check or rollover: what separates the two?
A paper check is a payment made directly to the former participant. A direct rollover sends the money to another qualified retirement account, such as an IRA or a new employer’s plan, so it stays inside the retirement system. Which path suits a given person depends on that person’s own tax situation, a question for a tax preparer or the receiving account’s custodian.
Rollover requests can be made online at the settlement website, using the claimant ID and access code printed on the notice. They can also be made by printing the PDF form and mailing it to the Frontier ERISA Settlement Administrator, c/o Rust Consulting Inc – 9245, P.O. Box 2599, Faribault, MN 55021-9599. The administrator lists a phone line at 888-227-0023 and an email address, info@FrontierERISASettlement.com, for questions about the notice.
When does the money move?
The court has set a fairness hearing for Jan. 7, 2027, where a judge decides whether to give the settlement final approval. Payments are issued only after final approval and after any appeals are resolved. The Dec. 8 date therefore comes well before any money changes hands.
Because payments follow approval, a former participant who submits the form and later changes plans or accounts should confirm the destination still matches what was requested. Questions about how a plan has to handle an incoming rollover go to the receiving plan or IRA custodian, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration handles questions about 401(k) plan rules and participant rights.
Holding a Frontier rollover notice with Dec. 8 on the calendar?
The notice, the claimant ID and the destination account are the three things a former participant needs in one place before the date.
The Frontier form covers one plan, one class period and one date. Plenty of former employees have never tracked down the other retirement money they left behind, such as an old pension or a 401(k) from an earlier job, and no settlement notice is coming for those.
That is a different job from the Frontier rollover form, which only the settlement administrator handles. The Money Owed to You Bundle takes up the wider search, with the Old Pension Finder, which covers three free federal searches and the letter that gets a plan to answer, and Find Unclaimed Money in Every State, which walks through every state lived in and every name used. All 8 guides come in one download with large print.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
