[Ipg-smz] Two lumps of "retirement" coal in my holiday stocking

[Dan Rosenbaum]

“Either way, the topic of 'what happens to my retirement accounts when the company goes 'poof'?' may become an interesting article. “

Well, the direct answer’s easy, although following through on it will not be.

There’s government agency called the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) that takes over defined-benefit pension plans of bankrupt companies. It was formed by the ERISA Act of 1974. Right now, there are something like 5,000 pension plans being paid out by the PBGC.

The money doesn’t come from general tax funds. It’s funded by insurance premiums paid by defined-benefit plan sponsors, assets of the funds it takes over, and recoveries from bankrupt pension funders.

So yeah: company goes away, it sticks a federal government agency with paying off its pension liability.

 

d

 

 

 

 

From: Ipg-smz <ipg-smz-bounces at netpress.org> on behalf of Mark Brownstein via Ipg-smz <ipg-smz at netpress.org>
Reply-To: <ipg-smz at netpress.org>
Date: Monday, December 23, 2019 at 1:14 PM
To: <ipg-smz at netpress.org>
Cc: Mark Brownstein <IPG at brownstein.com>
Subject: Re: [Ipg-smz] Two lumps of "retirement" coal in my holiday stocking

 

I wouldn't be too surprised to find that the states where these companies were located had the funds in an impound account or two. I believe that the retirement accounts established by these companies HAD TO BE maintained separately from the core businesses, so the funds may still be there, gathering interest all these years, if you can find them. 

Maybe the Social Security Administration can point to to where these funds are reportedly being held and, counterintuitively, actually HELP you to find those accounts - or whatever agency is still holding them for you. 

It may take some work, but the reward should be well worth it. 

Either way, the topic of 'what happens to my retirement accounts when the company goes 'poof'?' may become an interesting article. 

 

 

On 12/22/2019 1:44 PM, David Needle via Ipg-smz wrote:

 


I recently applied for social security - yeah, I'm that old. Sigh. But not retiring. 

 

Anyway, I just received two letters from the Social Security Administration headed 

Potential Private Retirement Benefit Information. 

 

Each one begins: "We are writing to tell you that you, or the worker whose Social Security number appears at the top of this form, MAY be entitled to some retirement benefits from a private employer .

 

Long story short, one letter says there is a "value" of $18,376 in a retirement account connected to CMP Publications reported in 1998 and the other lists $34,687 from Computer Currents Publishing reported in 1996. 

 

Both of those companies are long gone so I assume this is just some unresolved accounting by Social Security. While I don't remember these exacty figures, I did have a 401K at both companies so I assume that is what is this is in reference to and the money isn't actually owed to me or even exists anywhere as I would have rolled it over long ago. 

 

Oh well, got excited there for a minute. 

 

 




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