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Old pension - found money
Old 04-28-2017, 02:28 PM   #1
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Old pension - found money

I got a letter 2 weeks ago from the company now managing the retirement fund of a former employer. I have no idea how they found me, as I thought I had not vested in the plan and never updated my info. So I called and had them send me an estimate of benefits.

As it turns out I AM vested and will receive a whopping $110/month (with survivor benefits) when I turn 65 (3.5 years from now)

Not exactly a windfall, but....... I'll take it.
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Old 04-28-2017, 02:43 PM   #2
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Generally I don't like surprises but ones like that are just fine!
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Old 04-28-2017, 02:44 PM   #3
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No lump sum option? I would ask unless it has a COLA. Congrats.
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Old 04-28-2017, 02:47 PM   #4
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That'll buy you a good number of meals at Pio's over the course of a year! (If you like that thin crust pizza....)

/old_school_st._Charles_reference.
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Old 04-28-2017, 03:06 PM   #5
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No lump sum option? I would ask unless it has a COLA. Congrats.
No lump sum option mentioned. I will check closer to the time I can take it.
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Old 04-28-2017, 03:07 PM   #6
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I think the IRS or SS must be behind this- I got a similar notice but it was for a company I left in 1995 and I had just started collecting the pension (I was quite efficient about staying in contact with previous employers when a pension might be had). Maybe they report SS numbers to some government body, which then tracks you down based on tax records.
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Old 04-28-2017, 03:09 PM   #7
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That'll buy you a good number of meals at Pio's over the course of a year! (If you like that thin crust pizza....)

/old_school_st._Charles_reference.
Or lunch just up the street at The Corner Bar. $2.75 for a burger and $2 drafts
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Old 04-28-2017, 03:16 PM   #8
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Or lunch just up the street at The Corner Bar. $2.75 for a burger and $2 drafts
Oh man! And three pins (do they still have that?).
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Old 04-28-2017, 03:30 PM   #9
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Oh man! And three pins (do they still have that?).
The bowling alley is still downstairs. It is reserved for groups and leagues only, and is booked months in advance. I have not yet bowled there, but I have a group that is looking to try it.
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Old 04-28-2017, 06:08 PM   #10
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I got a letter 2 weeks ago from the company now managing the retirement fund of a former employer. I have no idea how they found me, as I thought I had not vested in the plan and never updated my info. So I called and had them send me an estimate of benefits.

As it turns out I AM vested and will receive a whopping $110/month (with survivor benefits) when I turn 65 (3.5 years from now)

Not exactly a windfall, but....... I'll take it.
My dad got his bank pension that way. Long gone from there, he gets a letter from the bank that bought the bank that bought the bank he worked for. ~$300/mo.

I think they're supposed to find all registered, by law, or something...
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mom got a letter 17.5 years after she retired
Old 04-28-2017, 06:18 PM   #11
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mom got a letter 17.5 years after she retired

she was getting $280 a month for working in the school cafeteria, she retired at 73, we get a letter 6 months ago they miscalculated it, they owed her 8400. and now its about 320 a month. i wonder how many people died since they retired and now the estates get the letter? glad she was alive to see the increase
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Old 04-28-2017, 06:49 PM   #12
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Anybody ever check the forfeited property list published by the state? My brother is always listed there in three places but he won't file a claim because he thinks it's a scam by the state to collect fines or something.
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Old 04-28-2017, 06:57 PM   #13
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I think the IRS or SS must be behind this- I got a similar notice but it was for a company I left in 1995 and I had just started collecting the pension (I was quite efficient about staying in contact with previous employers when a pension might be had). Maybe they report SS numbers to some government body, which then tracks you down based on tax records.
After I applied for SS I got a notice that I had a 401k at a previous employeer which I knew about.
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Old 04-28-2017, 07:35 PM   #14
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Anybody ever check the forfeited property list published by the state? My brother is always listed there in three places but he won't file a claim because he thinks it's a scam by the state to collect fines or something.
Yea, I got $85 back. Don't tell my ex-wife.
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Old 04-28-2017, 08:00 PM   #15
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I moved several years ago and didn't notify the pension people at a former employer. Sometime after the move I get a letter from them with a chastising tone that said something to the effect that it is my responsibility to let them know when I move. I was a little confused how they found me and I remember thinking that it isn't important that they know where I am, it is important that I know where they are.
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Old 04-28-2017, 09:08 PM   #16
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As it turns out I AM vested and will receive a whopping $110/month (with survivor benefits) when I turn 65 (3.5 years from now)

Not exactly a windfall, but....... I'll take it.
Just enough to invite a few of us over for pizza and beer every month.
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Old 04-28-2017, 09:17 PM   #17
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Anybody ever check the forfeited property list published by the state? My brother is always listed there in three places but he won't file a claim because he thinks it's a scam by the state to collect fines or something.
Yes, its not a scam as long as you are on the states website. A close family member checked the list and found he had forgotten about an old checking account. Had about $400 get paid to him from the state.
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Old 04-28-2017, 10:00 PM   #18
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Anybody ever check the forfeited property list published by the state? My brother is always listed there in three places but he won't file a claim because he thinks it's a scam by the state to collect fines or something.
I found money belonging to DF's on a state's unclaimed property site. It was from MetLife. I think it was from unpaid dividend payments . The last address they had was from about 50 years prior. They gave it to the state for good keeping. He was 3 years deceased when I found it. I filed and got the small amount. Certainly worth my while.

Not a scam from my perspective.
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Old 04-29-2017, 05:11 AM   #19
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Not exactly a windfall, but....... I'll take it.
Same thing happened to me last year - pretty funny. It was nice of the old megacorp pension plan to track me down.

Each year I delay starting the non-COLA'd pension from age 55 is equivalent to a 7% increase in principal on a bond generating the same income, so I'm inclined to delay starting the pension (I hit the double-nickels later this year). I'm ignoring inflation and other factors in this simple analysis.

This is my ER.org post #666, so something bad is probably going to happen to my tiny pension.
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Old 04-29-2017, 07:52 AM   #20
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Anybody ever check the forfeited property list published by the state? My brother is always listed there in three places but he won't file a claim because he thinks it's a scam by the state to collect fines or something.
Yes! I did check it and low and behold, it turned out that the State had an old "refund" check worth about $2000 waiting for me! I could never figure out what it was for or why it ended up on the abandoned property list (I have lived at the same address for almost 30 years), but hey, why look a gift horse in the mouth, right? Turned out to be a bit of a hassle to actually claim the money because it required an affidavit signed by DW and myself and notarized, and they managed to lose the paperwork the first time around. Second time was the charm though and after about 12 months of processing, the check showed up!

Tell your brother to go for it!
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