A few examples of how we've helped:

Company changed hands several times

• Mr. H worked for a lumber company from 1973 to 1985, and left that company when he was 40s. He recently reached retirement age and when he tried to locate the lumber company to claim his pension benefit, he learned the company had changed hands several times and was therefore unable to find his pension. We were able to find the most recent owner and Mr. H's pension benefit.
   
• Similarly, the paper company where Mrs. G worked from 1959 until 1978 changed hands four times after she left. When she turned 65 she was unable to find the company. Our research led us to the company that purchased the paper company. A representative there conducted extensive research that yielded the name of the pension administrator. Mrs. G began receiving her pension payments less than six months after contacting us.

Pension wasn't as much as it should be

• After working for a packaging company for 26 years, Mr. S decided to retire early at age 62. The company said he would have to take a reduced amount because he was retiring early. We contacted the company after reviewing plan documents. We demonstrated that he was in fact entitled to his full retirement based on plan provisions and he is now receiving his full benefit.
• Similarly, Mr. J worked for a major corporation for more than 30 years and was a member of a union. His pension benefits stopped accruing after 30 years but he was not ready to retire then so he worked for several more years. In the meantime, his pension plan was amended and his benefits were reduced under the amendment. He contacted our Project and we were able to get his benefits restored to the pre-amendment amount.

Client did not know who to contact

Mr. G worked for six years for a container company. He received a letter when he left the company that said he was 100% vested in his pension. Mr. G, who is still many years from retiring, heard another company purchased the container company. He asked us to see if his pension plan was still active and which company was administering the plan. We located the new company and provided Mr. G with a current document outlining his benefits. We instructed him to keep the document with his important papers until he is ready to retire in 2019. We also instructed him to contact the pension administrator periodically to make sure they still have his records (but not more than once a year) and to be sure to notify the administrator of any change in address.

• Mr. V worked for a company in the 1970s and 1980s that went bankrupt in the mid-1990s and ultimately went out of business. He knew he earned a pension but did not know what happened to it. We were able to track down Mr. V's pension, which is being administered by a life insurance company.

Recovery of Survivor benefit after spouse's death

• Mrs. G was denied a survivor benefit when she contacted her husband's pension plan after he died. The plan told her that her husband's benefit "died with him." Prior to Mr. G's death, Mr. and Mrs. G were separated, but no legal action had been taken regarding their marriage. When Mr. G retired, he stated that he was divorced on his application and the pension plan took him at his word. After our intervention, Mrs. G was able to receive a survivor benefit retroactive to her husband's death.
• Mrs. L’s husband died in 1990 at the age of 51. At the time of his death, he was employed by a pharmaceutical company and had obtained documents indicating that he was vested. The documents also indicated that in the event of his death, his wife would be entitled to a survivor benefit on the date he would have turned 65, which would have been in 2004. Several months prior to that date, Mrs. L attempted to apply for her benefit. The company had been bought and sold several times and the current owner told Mrs. L that it had no records of Mr. L’s pension and that it couldn’t help her. She found our Project on the internet. After numerous letters and phone calls, the Project was able to convince the current owner that they did in fact owe Mrs. L a survivor benefit.