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Pension Notes
PENSION ACTION CENTER
Gerontology Institute
McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies
Summer 2012
In this issue
Free Pension Counseling Services Now Available to Illinois
Residents
Center's Staff Keeps Growing
New Statements Give Workers a Better Look at 401(k) Fees
Improper Plan Administration Almost Costs Widow Her
Survivor's Benefit
In the News
Free Pension Counseling Services
Now Available to Illinois Residents
As you may have read in our last
issue of Pension Notes, The
Retirement Research Foundation
recently selected the Pension
Action Center for a grant,
allowing us to expand our
pension counseling services to
Illinois. The new Illinois Pension
Assistance Project started serving
clients on July 2, 2012.
In addition to assisting current
Illinois residents, this new project can also assist people if:
they lived or worked in Illinois while earning their
pension.
their company or pension plan is headquartered or
has operations in Illinois.
their company or pension plan had operations in
Illinois when the pension was being earned.
The project provides personalized pension counseling to
people who have questions about their traditional private
pension plans, 401(K) plans, or other private employer-
sponsored retirement plans. Our office can assist
individuals having problems with pensions, such as those
who have been denied pension benefits, are receiving less
than they're entitled to, or are unable to locate a lost
pension. We also help with other issues regarding pension
PROJECT WORK
ADDS UP
Over 6,100
workers and retirees
helped
More than
$41.8 million
in benefits recovered
Donate Now
You can help workers and
retirees enjoy more
financially secure
retirements by supporting
the Pension Action
Center.
Please select "Pension
Action Center" from the
list of centers at UMass
Boston and complete the
online giving form. Thank
you.
Get the Word
Out
Help us spread the word
to potential clients by
printing and distributing
our Illinois Pension
Assistance Project (IPAP)
and New England Pension
Assistance Project
(NEPAP) flyers, found at

2. eligibility.
Requests for assistance from the Illinois Pension Assistance
Project can be submitted using our online request form.
People needing help can also call the project toll-free, at
888.425.6067 or email pension@umb.edu.
In addition to our new project, we continue to provide
pension counseling to Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, through the New
England Pension Assistance Project, and referrals
nationwide, through the National Pension Lawyers
Network.
Center's Staff Keeps Growing
The Pension Action Center has created and filled new
positions, due to the recent expansion of its pension
counseling to Illinois.
In July, 2012, Louise Cataldo joined the center as the
development and community education coordinator for the
Illinois Pension Assistance Project (IPAP). With a
background in human resources, fundraising, development,
and legal services, she is well-qualified to establish the
project in this new service area. We are fortunate to have
her.
The center is also hiring a new staff attorney for IPAP.
Currently this role is being filled by Mia Midenjak, JD, who
previously acted as a legal fellow for the New England
Pension Assistance Project. She is extremely knowledgeable
in the area of employee benefits and has been a great asset
to the center.
We have also welcomed two new volunteer pension
counselors, Mary Kinsell and Teresa Ryan. Both joined the
center in August 2012, and assist with handling individual
cases for clients. They conduct case investigations to find
lost pensions as well as assemble documentation to show a
client's right to a pension. These counselors play a key role
in our ability to help Illinois clients and we are excited to
welcome them to the team.
In addition to hiring more staff on ongoing basis, a Boston
the links below
IPAP Flyer
NEPAP Flyer
Which Should
You Choose?
Annuity vs. Lump Sum
Ford and General Motors
have been in the news this
summer for offering many
retirees the option to
forgo their monthly
pension checks for a one-
time lump sum payment.
People often ask us
whether they should take
their pension as a lump-
sum or an annuity. While
we don't give financial
advice; we recommend
that you take this decision
seriously, as it could affect
your future economic
security.
The Pension Rights
Center, a nonprofit
organization in
Washington DC, has
released a fact sheet
summarizing some
important things to
consider when making this
decision. Read this
informative document:
"Should You Take Your
Pension as a Lump Sum?"
Stay Informed
on Issues that
Affect Your
Pension
The Pension Action
Center offers a number of
different ways to learn

3. College High School student joined the center for the
summer. Matthew Bedugnis, who just entered his senior
year, participated in UMass Boston's summer job program
for local teens. Funding for the program was provided by
the Chancellor's Office and the Office of the Vice Chancellor
for Administration and Finance. While he has now returned
to school, Matthew's competence and hard work helped us
get through an especially busy time.
New Statements Give Workers a
Better Look at 401(k) Fees
For the first time, the U.S.
Department of Labor is requiring
employers to explain to participants
the fees they are paying for their
401(k) plans. The information is to be
provided in two phases. The first one,
which should have been provided to
plan participants by the end of
August, details the annual
performance and fees associated with
the plan's various investment options.
The second one will detail how much
an individual is paying for investment
and administrative fees and will
appear on the participant's quarterly statement to be issued
in October or November.
These notices are the culmination of an effort by the
Department of Labor to help employers and employees
understand the cost of their 401(k) plans. While these
documents may not be simple or easy to understand, they
serve an important purpose. Up until now, many plan
participants have not even been aware that they are paying
for these plans. In fact, a recent study by the AARP showed
that nearly ¾ of plan participants thought their plans were
free. For the first time, employees will know explicitly how
much of their retirement savings goes to cover fees.
Improper Plan Administration Almost
Costs Widow Her Survivor's Benefit
The New England Pension Assistance Project recently
assisted a 76-year old widow in Stamford, Connecticut. She
was living on a modest income and having difficulty
obtaining her survivor's benefits from her late husband's
pension plan. Her husband had died in 2010 at the age of
79 without ever receiving his pension.
The client called us in April of 2011 because she had
paperwork showing that her husband was vested in a
pension sponsored by the Bunker-Ramo Company, which
had been acquired by Honeywell long after his employment
had ended. She had contacted Honeywell on her own and
had been told she was not entitled to any benefit.
When we contacted Honeywell on the client's behalf, we
about retirement and
pension issues. In addition
to operating a national
referral service and
offering free pension
counseling to New
England and Illinois, the
center provides useful
information on its
website.
Our website features
answers to frequently
asked questions,
informative fact sheets,
and links to other
organizations that assist
with pension issues.
Taking steps to educate
yourself before problems
arise helps ensure that
you can live comfortably
in retirement.
Updating and
Expanding the
National
Pension
Lawyers
Network
In order to provide
accurate referrals to
clients, the National
Pension Lawyers Network
(NPLN) is conducting a
major update of its
attorney database.
Members of the National
Pension Lawyers Network
can update their
information by filling out
a short survey online.
We are also continuing to
make a significant effort
to increase the nationwide
membership in NPLN.
If you know any attorneys
who represent pension
plan participants and may
be interested in joining
NPLN, please ask them to
fill out our attorney
registration form.

4. were told that the client was ineligible for a survivor's
benefit because her late husband had failed to file an
election form giving her a Qualified Pre-Retirement
Survivor Annuity. We realized immediately that this answer
was completely inconsistent with the Retirement Equity Act
(Section 205 of ERISA), which required that the 50%
survivor annuity be the automatic form of benefit payment
for any vested participant who was alive on August 23,
1984, and whose benefits were not yet in pay status on that
date. It was shocking that the pension administrator was
acting in a manner so blatantly incorrect in an area of well-
settled law.
We filed a claim for survivor's benefits in late August 2011,
and anticipated a decision within the 90-day framework
dictated by ERISA. When we did not receive a response
within that period, we began a series of letters and
telephone calls that ultimately led to Honeywell admitting
in December 2011 that our claim was received. In May of
2012, Honeywell finally agreed to calculate and pay our
client the survivor's benefit retroactive to the date of her
late husband's death.
The retroactive lump sum and the ongoing monthly lifetime
benefit, with a projected lifetime value of over $27,000, will
have a significant impact on our client's life and on her
economic security.
In the News
The Pension Action Center's managing attorney, Jeanne
Medeiros, was interviewed for the July 2012 issue of
Kiplinger's Retirement Report. The article she is
featured in addresses the problem of pension overpayment
and recoupment. Read the article online: "Suprise Retirees!
Return the Benefits."
An employee benefits news website, BenefitsPro, posted
an article on the new Illinois Pension Assistance Project on
July 9, 2012. Check it out: "Illinois program will counsel
residents about employer-sponsored retirement plans."
On August 10, 2012, Reuters featured the Pension Action
Center in a column on lost pensions. Both Attorney
Medeiros and a recent project client, Frank Marroquin, are
quoted. Having one of our "success stories" featured in a
major news outlet is very exciting! Be sure to read this
column: "How to find a lost pension."
Back to Top
Quick Links
www.umb.edu/pensionaction
www.pensionrights.org
www.wiserwomen.org
www.socialsecurity.gov
www.aoa.gov
http://www.rrf.org/
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