The Mid America Pension Project serves workers, retirees and their families in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Tennessee. They shared a recent success story that demonstrates how they protect retirement rights for hundreds of people each year:
A client called the project for assistance with his pension after his attempts to secure his benefit had failed. He had worked for a small city bank from 1966 until 1978. The bank merged with a large national bank after the client had terminated his employment. The client had retained documents from his bank’s profit-sharing plan, for which he was paid his share in 1978.
The documents confirmed his employment dates and had information about the pension plan. The pension document confirmed that employees were 100 percent vested after working 10 years. After review of the client’s documents, the Mid America Pension Project attorney requested a Notice of Potential Retirement Benefit from the Social Security Administration (SSA) naming the city bank’s pension plan. Several months later, the SSA provided the attorney the notice confirming that the client had earned a pension benefit now with the national bank pension plan.
The attorney sent both the profit-sharing plan information and the SSA notice in support of the client’s claim for a pension benefit to the national bank’s vice president for retirement plans who had previously been a resource on other pension matters for the attorney. The plan, unable to show that the client had already been paid his pension benefit, determined that he was entitled to a benefit. The client elected a lump sum payment of his pension, including accrued interest, in the amount of more than $13,000.
If you have questions about your pension plan, contact our team of attorneys at the Mid America Pension Project:
Toll Free Number: 866-783-5021
Email: pensionrights@trellisconnects.org
