My work is going bankrupt, what will happen to my 401k and benefit plan?

401(k) plans are tax-qualified plans covered by ERISA such that assets held by the plans are generally protected from creditors of the account holder, which in the past was generally not true for IRA plans. In the case of employer bankruptcy, all 401(a) (pension and defined contribution plans) and 401(k) plans are protected, because of the rule that contributions must accrue to the exclusive benefit of employees in general. Even though pension plans are backed by insurance through the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, workers whose company enters bankruptcy may not receive the full value of their pension. ERISA protection of 401(k) assets does not extend to losses in the value of investments that participants choose. Employees investing their 401(k) in their own employer stock face the possibility of losing the value of their retirement accounts that is invested in employer stock along with their jobs if their employer goes out of business.