Need to DO anything re this letter?

[TromboneAl]

After applying for medicare, Lena got two of these letters:

It's not clear if she's supposed to do anything. It says "If you want to apply for these retirement benefits ... you chould contact the Plan Administrator shown below."

Anyone know?

 

[pb4uski]

It sounds like Lena is eligible for two defined benefit pension plan benefits from two previous employers and they are just letting her know in case she is unaware.

Generally, if she had worked for more than 5 years for an employer that had a defined benefit pension plan then she may have qualified for retirement benefits.

I think it would be worth contacting each plan administrator and asking.

 

[cathy63]

This letter is telling her that she earned retirement benefits at a former employer. It could be a pension, or something like an ESOP account where she'll get a lump sum. Is she aware of any previous employer that had any kind of plan? It probably isn't something she signed up for, just something that was automatic. The administrator is probably not the same as the employer, just a 3rd party they hire to manage the plan.

If she wants the money she earned, then she should contact the administrator. If she doesn't (and why wouldn't she?) then she can ignore it.

 

[statsman]

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/fi...ential-private-benefit-information-notice.pdf

 

[sengsational]

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/fi...ential-private-benefit-information-notice.pdf

Helpful thing. We usually try to include at least a little bit of information about the link, so I'll do that:

I received an SSA Potential Private Retirement Benefit Information notice. What does this
mean?
This notice was sent to you by the Social Security Administration (SSA) because you filed a claim for social
security benefits. It is a reminder about private employer retirement benefits that you have earned, also called
"deferred vested benefits". The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provided this information to SSA. The
information is provided to the IRS by the plan administrators of the private retirement plans that you
participated in while you were an employee. You may have already received some or all of these benefits. You
should review the plan information on this notice and contact the plan administrator identified to make a claim
for any benefits due to you.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Sounds like found money. Contact the plan administrator.

 

[splitwdw]

My mom got one of these letters. It's just a reminder that you may have had a pension/401k/IRA at a previous company where you worked. For my mom, it was a 401k at a former company and she had already rolled it over (years ago) to the new company she worked for. Lena only has to do something if she left money at a past employer.

 

[Katsmeow]

I got one of these for a former employer. However, the former employer is defunct. The administrator is the former employer and the year something was reported for is 1998. I can't contact the administrator because they have been gone from that address for probably 20 years and don't exist anywhere.

I haven't really done anything with it because I have no idea who to contact on it since the employer doesn't exist. I did have a 401 (k) and when I left (in the mid 1990s) I rolled over the 401 (k). So I am not sure what would have been reported a couple of years later. The type of benefit shown is M which means Other. I doubt it is anything of value exists (the estimated amount field is empty). But if I had someone to contact I would do it. Anyone know what you do if the plan administrator no longer exists?

The instructions are useless. They say if you can't contact the plan administrator contact the former employer. If you can't locate the employer employer to check the library or the state's corporation commission. None of that seems to deal with the situation where the employer no longer exists. It isn't that I don't know who to find them...it is that they are no longer in business.

 

[jazz4cash]

After applying for medicare, Lena got two of these letters:

It's not clear if she's supposed to do anything. It says "If you want to apply for these retirement benefits ... you chould contact the Plan Administrator shown below."

Anyone know?

seems pretty clear to me....contact the Plan Administrator shown below unless of course you do NOT wish to apply for these benefits. I suppose this private retirement benefit is not a surprise? Is there any contact info listed (phone, mail, or email ?)

 

[rk911]

After applying for medicare, Lena got two of these letters:

It's not clear if she's supposed to do anything. It says "If you want to apply for these retirement benefits ... you chould contact the Plan Administrator shown below."

Anyone know?

seems clear to me. this is a "heads up" from SS about two private pension plans she may be entitled to. i'd be doing that tomorrow. should have no effect on SS elegibility.

 

[cathy63]

I got one of these for a former employer. However, the former employer is defunct. The administrator is the former employer and the year something was reported for is 1998. I can't contact the administrator because they have been gone from that address for probably 20 years and don't exist anywhere.

I haven't really done anything with it because I have no idea who to contact on it since the employer doesn't exist. I did have a 401 (k) and when I left (in the mid 1990s) I rolled over the 401 (k). So I am not sure what would have been reported a couple of years later. The type of benefit shown is M which means Other. I doubt it is anything of value exists (the estimated amount field is empty). But if I had someone to contact I would do it. Anyone know what you do if the plan administrator no longer exists?

The instructions are useless. They say if you can't contact the plan administrator contact the former employer. If you can't locate the employer employer to check the library or the state's corporation commission. None of that seems to deal with the situation where the employer no longer exists. It isn't that I don't know who to find them...it is that they are no longer in business.

You can try these:
- the unclaimed property website for the state where you lived and the one where the company was headquartered
- Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp -- probably can't help if it wasn't an actual pension, but they may be able to point you to someone else
- Employee Benefits Security Administration -- https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa

 

[Katsmeow]

You can try these:
- the unclaimed property website for the state where you lived and the one where the company was headquartered
- Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp -- probably can't help if it wasn't an actual pension, but they may be able to point you to someone else
- Employee Benefits Security Administration -- https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa

Thanks. Those are good ideas.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

You can try these:
- the unclaimed property website for the state where you lived and the one where the company was headquartered
- Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp -- probably can't help if it wasn't an actual pension, but they may be able to point you to someone else
- Employee Benefits Security Administration -- https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa

https://www.missingmoney.com/en/, despite the .com domain, is a legit, free service that will let you search across different states, and direct you to those states' treasurers or whatever state agency is in charge of abandoned funds. Thanks for reminding me, I haven't checked it for a while. (And now I check for both my parents, too, as I was an only child and handled both their estates.)

 

[ERD50]

seems clear to me. this is a "heads up" from SS about two private pension plans she may be entitled to. i'd be doing that tomorrow. should have no effect on SS eligibility.

Not enough information.

I read the FAQ that was linked earlier, and dug up my own letter from last year to refresh my memory, and yes, it lists the pension that I know about, and plan to claim at a later date (still want to do Roth conversions for as long as I can).

So it's only important to contact them if there is any question about those benefits. If it fits what you know, no action required.

So TromboneAl, you didn't clarify, is Lena aware of this pension? Even if she forgot about it, the company might track her down regardless?

DW should get her letter later this year, I suspect it will list a pension from a company she worked for long ago, and it was vested for only a small amount when she left, so she just took the lump sum. Nothing more is due her, so I'll just ignore that.

-ERD50