• The cut-off period is the period of time during which 401(k) plan members are not allowed to make changes to their investment allocations. A typical outage period lasts 4 to 6 weeks and is imposed when a 401(k) plan sponsoring employer changes from one plan administrator to another. Claims against trusted individuals tasked with overseeing such plans most often arise when the stock market plummets during shutdown periods. Claims at this time are more likely because employees cannot transfer money from the warehouse and thus reduce losses. To reduce exposure to such claims, companies offering 401(k) plans must notify outage periods well in advance of the date they are scheduled.