Finding a 

Lost Pension
1

Contents

Introduction 2

Things to Know Before You Start 4

Legal Protections 7

Documents You May Need in Your Search 8

Your Potential Allies in the Search 10

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 12

Searching 14

Obstacles (and Dead Ends) to be Aware of 19

In Your Search

Once You’ve Found the Pension: 22

Securing Your Benefits

A Final Word 26

Appendix A: Glossary 27

Appendix B: Employee Benefits Security 30

Administration (EBSA) 

Appendix C: Pension Counseling Projects 33

The Pension Action Center at the Gerontology Institute, 

University of Massachusetts Boston, was a partner with the 

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in the development 

of this booklet.
Introduction

Arthur Kelly, age 67, is retiring soon. Like many nearing 

retirement, he is trying to work out how to make his 

savings and retirement income last 20 years or more. 

His current job has a pension plan, which will pay him a 

small monthly benefit, and he is eligible for Social Security. 

He has saved a modest nest-egg through 401(k) plans in the 

two jobs before his current job. But what about his jobs 

before that?

As a young man, Arthur had worked for 10 years for the 

Grand Valley Tool & Die Corporation in Millville, Ohio. 

Back then, he had paid little attention to retirement. 

Looking back, Arthur thinks he remembers being in the 

Grand Valley Tool & Die Pension Plan, but doesn’t know 

whether he is entitled to a pension now.

Arthur sets out to track down his old employer, find out 

whether he is owed benefits, and apply for whatever pension 

benefits he is owed. But the company’s old number is not in 

service. Millville directory assistance doesn’t help — Grand 

Valley Tool & Die is not listed. Arthur tries an internet 

search, but he cannot find the company’s current address or 

phone number. He is at a loss. If the company’s gone, how 

can he find out if he is owed a a pension? How can he apply 

for his benefits if he is?

2
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FINDING A LOST PENSION

Arthur Kelly is a fictitious person, but his problem is all too 

real. Thousands of people in the United States are entitled 

to pension payments that they may not have claimed 

because they do not know where to look. After all, 

a company may:

•	 move from one city or town to another;

•	 close down a particular plant or office to consolidate its 

operations elsewhere;

•	 be bought by another company and given a new name;

•	 merge with another company;

•	 divide into separate parts, none of which retains the old 

company name;

•	 go bankrupt;

•	 any combination of the above; or 

•	 simply close its doors and disappear.

Do you have the same problem as Arthur? Don’t write off 

your pension as “lost.” Your pension money may be sitting 

safely in a pension plan or financial institution, waiting for 

you to come forward to claim it. 

Whether you are the person who earned the benefit, or 

that person’s surviving beneficiary, if you think you may be 

entitled to a pension benefit, it makes sense to see if you are. 

This booklet presents advice on how to plan and conduct 

your search, based on the experience of pension counselors.
4

Things to Know Before You Start

Terminology in This Booklet

We have tried to stay away from jargon as much as possible, 

but you’ll almost certainly run into some specialized 

language in the course of your search. Where it seems 

likely that certain terms will come up throughout your 

search, we’ve used some of this vocabulary. For example, in 

pension terminology, “beneficiary” generally means a person 

designated by a pension plan participant, or by the plan’s 

terms, to receive some or all of the participant’s pension 

benefits upon the participant’s death.

If you see terms in this booklet you don’t understand, you 

may find them in the glossary (Appendix A). A more extensive 

glossary is available at www.pbgc.gov. The glossary appears in 

the top right corner of the page, above the “Search” box.

Throughout this booklet, we use “pension” interchangeably 

with “defined benefit pension,” as is most common in general 

usage. We do not use it to signify defined contribution plans, 

such as 401(k) or profit-sharing plans. (For the definition of 

“defined benefit,” please see Appendix A.)

Using the Computer — Whether or

Not You’re Computer-Savvy

Throughout this booklet, we will mention computer 

searches, the Internet, and specific online links where you 
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FINDING A LOST PENSION

can gather more information. That’s because some of the 

most powerful search tools these days are on the Internet. In 

fact, if you are computer-savvy, you might even want to use 

the PDF version of this booklet, available at www.pbgc.gov, 

for easier access to linked information.

But if you’re not a computer wiz, don’t give up. You 

probably know people who can help with this part of the 

search, and the techniques described in this booklet are 

simple for computer users. Even if you don’t have friends 

or family willing to help, most public library reference 

librarians will be happy to. (See “Your Potential Allies in the 

Search,” page 10.)

So, when you see advice to search online or to go to a certain 

website, don’t give up — gather your allies and press on!

What You Are Looking For

The object of your search is the pension plan — or its 

successor — that may owe you a benefit. Broadly speaking, 

here is what may have happened to your benefits:

•	 The plan may still be intact, in one form or another. That 

is, the original company may have reorganized, or been 

bought out, but the current owners have inherited the 

legal obligation to pay the benefits due under your old 

pension plan.

•	 The plan may have bought an annuity contract from 

an insurance company which, in return, took over the 
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

obligation to pay people entitled to benefits under 

the plan.

•	 The plan may have arranged for a financial institution or 

other company to administer the plan, or transferred to 

a financial institution the money owed to workers whom 

they could not find.

•	 The plan may have been taken over by the Pension 

Benefit Guaranty Corporation. When defined benefit 

plans fail, PBGC pays the benefits up to certain limits 

(see page 12).

•	 The plan may have been terminated by the employer, 

with benefits paid to plan participants who could be 

found. If the plan was a defined benefit plan, benefits for 

people whom the employer could not find may have been 

turned over to PBGC. (See page 12.)

•	 Finally, the plan simply may be gone, along with the 

money it owed. This is usually illegal, but cannot be ruled 

out. But there is no reason to assume that it happened.

Your job is to find out who is now responsible for paying 

your pension benefit. To do this, you will need to know 

what happened to the pension plan after you left the job. 

This may be as simple as finding out where your old 

company has moved, or it may be as difficult as piecing 

together a complicated story of corporate mergers and 

bankruptcies. The sources of help described on pages 10 - 13 

may well be necessary in your search.
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FINDING A LOST PENSION

Legal Protections

Before 1974, private pensions were almost entirely 

unregulated. Back then, a worker might reach 

retirement only to find that his or her nest egg, 

in the form of an ample pension, had completely 

disappeared. Then, in 1974, Congress passed the 

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) 

establishing broad protections for many workers. 

Under ERISA, the Department of Labor monitors pension 

plans to make sure they are responsibly managed. The 

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulates pension plans for tax 

purposes. Finally, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 

insures private defined benefit pension plans, to make sure that 

workers are not deprived of their accumulated benefits when a 

plan terminates (see page 12 for more information on PBGC).

However, not all pension plans are protected by this federal law. 

Here are the major exceptions to ERISA’s safeguards:

•	 Only private-sector workers are protected, not employees of 

the federal government or state or local governments.

•	 These protections do not apply if you left the company 

before the effective date of ERISA. For most plans the 

effective date is 1976. But for some plans, the effective date 

might be as early as 1974, and for multiemployer plans, the 

effective date may be later than 1976. Nonetheless, you 

might still be owed a benefit, if you satisfied the provisions of 

the plan and were vested in the benefit when you left the job.

•	 PBGC only insures defined benefit pension plans (see 

“Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation” on page 12 for 

more information on the types of plans that PBGC covers.)

7
8

Documents You May

Need in Your Search

Documents showing the name of the company you worked 

for and its employer identification number, or EIN, can 

be helpful in tracking the company. Documents that show 

your period of employment and your earnings are useful to 

prove your eligibility after you have located the plan. Such 

documents include pay slips and W-2 forms.

Gather any documents you can find that may have a bearing 

on your pension eligibility and keep them in one place. Any 

or all of the following types of documents can be valuable:

•	 a notification that you are vested in the plan

•	 an individual benefit statement (which many larger plans 

provide automatically each year)

•	 an exit letter (which you should have received when you 

left an employer) noting your participation in a 

pension plan

•	 a summary plan description showing the plan’s rules, 

including the rules for vesting

•	 a Notice of Potential Private Pension Benefit Information, 

if the Social Security Administration sent you such 

a notice

The SSA automatically sends a Notice of Potential Private 

Pension Benefit Information to people who may be due 

pensions when they apply for Social Security and Medicare 

benefits. The notice itself is only of a potential benefit — for 
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FINDING A LOST PENSION

example, you may no longer be due a benefit because you 

received it in the past, in its entirety — so getting this notice 

is not a guarantee that you are due a benefit. But the notice 

should provide identifying information about your pension 

plan that can put you on the right track. 

Your earnings record from the Social Security 

Administration shows how much you were paid each 

calendar year by each employer. From it, you may get the 

employer identification number, which may be helpful in 

tracking down the plan. 

To get a copy of your earnings record, file Form SSA-7050, 

“Request for Social Security Earnings Information.”The 

form is available at www.socialsecurity.gov/online/

ssa-7050.pdf, or by calling 1-800-772-1213. This form 

will show whatever fees you may need to pay for the 

information. The response from Social Security may take 

120 days or more.
10

Your Potential Allies

in the Search

Looking for a pension fund can be confusing. For that reason, 

once you have gathered as much of the information mentioned 

above as possible, it is important to look for guidance where 

you can find it. Here are some potentially helpful allies.

The U.S. Department of Labor

Within the Department, the Employee Benefits Security 

Administration (EBSA) and EBSA’s regional and district 

offices provide assistance to individuals who are having 

difficulty with their pensions. (Addresses and phone 

numbers for the EBSA offices are listed in Appendix B.)

EBSA’s benefit advisors are experienced in all aspects of 

the federal pension law. They can provide you general 

information about your rights and will intervene with 

administrators of the fund on your behalf if necessary. They 

can also assist you in your search for a “missing plan.”

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

At www.pbgc.gov/search/default.htm, PBGC maintains 

an online listing of people who are entitled to benefits from 

certain pension plans but have not claimed them. The PBGC 

list may be a shortcut for some workers or their beneficiaries 

looking for a lost pension. Other tools on www.PBGC.gov

may be helpful in your search as well. (See page 12.) 
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FINDING A LOST PENSION

The Pension Rights Center

The Pension Rights Center maintains an online clearinghouse called Pension Help America (pensionhelp.org). The 

Pension Help site walks you through a step-by-step process 

for getting information about your retirement benefits, 

including referrals to legal professionals. 

Or, you can e-mail PRC through their website at 

www.pensionrights.org/contact. 

Pension Counseling Projects

You can call one of the free pension counseling projects 

listed in Appendix C of this booklet if you live in one of 

the areas served. They provide free pension counseling, and 

many specialize in difficult situations, including those in 

which people cannot locate their pension plans. 

Public Libraries

Most libraries have resources — printed directories and 

online databases — that can help in your search. The 

directories may be helpful in tracing a company: For 

example, the library may have directories listing acquisitions 

and mergers going back a number of years. Workers at the 

reference desk can help you use these sources, and they can 

help you find free or low-cost private clearinghouses for 

unclaimed retirement benefits. In most cases, they can also 

help you use one of the library’s computers in your search.
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

The Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation

12

PBGC insures defined benefit plans offered by 

private-sector employers. PBGC does not insure 

defined contribution plans, such as 401(k) or 

profit-sharing plans.

PBGC usually does not insure plans offered by:

•	 “professional service employers” (such as doctors and 

lawyers) with fewer than 26 employees, 

•	 church groups, or 

•	 federal, state, or local government.

As of 2013, PBGC had identified about 38,000 people 

who had pensions waiting for them when their plans were 

terminated. If your plan has been terminated, your search may 

be as simple as a visit to our Unclaimed Pensions page. Just 

visit www.pbgc.gov and click on “Looking for an Unclaimed 

Pension?” in the top right corner of the page. 

At www.pbgc.gov/res/search.html, you will find 

links to

•	 searchable lists of single-employer and multiemployer 

pension plans which are insured by PBGC, 

•	 a searchable list of plans taken over (trusteed) by PBGC, 

and

•	 the list of unclaimed pensions described above.
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FINDING A LOST PENSION

This is also where you will find any tools we add in the future. 

Follow the simple instructions on each search page to find 

out if your plan is insured by PBGC (and therefore is likely still 

ongoing) or if it’s been taken over by PBGC. Finding your plan 

on either of these lists can be valuable. If it is on the list of 

insured plans, for example, you can get information such as the 

employer identification number and a current phone number, 

and your search may be over. 

If PBGC has taken over administration of the plan and you are 

owed a pension, you should be able to find your name on the 

Unclaimed Pensions page. If so, you can follow the instructions 

on the page to follow up with PBGC.

If your plan is still ongoing under a new name and is associated 

with a new company and location, it may be trickier. PBGC 

does not yet have a tool for linking a currently insured plan to 

a former plan name or company name. But, see page 17 for 

information on a tool called www.freeERISA.com.

Finally, If you do not have computer access you may write to the 

PBGC Pension Search Program, P.O. Box 151750, Alexandria, 

VA 22315-1750.
14

Searching

First and foremost, keep in mind the “Allies” discussed 

in the previous section. Start with a search of PBGC’s 

Unclaimed Pensions database, which covers all participants 

in terminated defined benefit plans who could not be

located by PBGC or by their former employer. 

Also keep in mind the other PBGC databases listed on the 

previous page, which can give you valuable clues about your 

pension plan. If this fails, contact the Department of Labor 

and pension counseling projects for assistance with 

your search. 

Even if these sources do not lead you directly to your 

pension, small steps can be enormously helpful. If you find 

out the name of a company that bought your old employer, 

for example, then you can use the sources to look for 

information about that second company. 

To find a pension plan, you will normally need to find the 

company that sponsored it, even though the plan and the 

company are not the same thing. The steps below can be 

very valuable in finding the company you are looking for.

1. An Internet search for information may be helpful. Using 

a search engine such as Google or Bing, type in the the 

company’s last known name, the word “pension,” and any 

other pertinent keywords. The more keywords you add to 

your search, the more targeted it becomes. For example, 
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FINDING A LOST PENSION

if you know the company went out of business in January 

2000, you may want to add “January 2000” to your 

search terms.

If you find out that the company went bankrupt, the 

name and address of the trustee in bankruptcy is in the 

public record. You can find records from all bankruptcy 

court filings by signing up for an account at 

www.pacer.gov.

2. If you can easily get in touch with any former co-workers 

who stayed at the company longer than you did, they 

may be able to tell you what happened to the company. If 

the former co-worker is getting pension checks, ask where 

the checks are coming from.

3. A union that represented workers at the company (even 

if you yourself were not part of the bargaining unit) may 

have information. Other workers may have asked the 

union the same question.

If you don’t know which union it was, or how to locate it, 

the state’s labor federation (the state AFL-CIO) may be 

able to help you identify and find it. The labor federation 

is likely to have its office in the state’s largest city or 

its capital city, or you may be able to find its contact 

information on the Internet.
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

4. The Chamber of Commerce of the city or town where 

the company was located may know where the company 

moved, or who bought it out. If the first person you talk 

to doesn’t know, ask if they can refer you to someone who 

has been active in the Chamber for a long time.

5. In some cases, the name and address of the pension plan 

administrator, as listed in the most recent document you 

can find, may lead you directly to your answers. If the 

address is different from the company’s old address, there 

is a chance that this person will still be reachable there 

and can either end your search or help you with it. 

Every pension plan has someone — or some department 

— officially designated as the plan administrator. In a very 

small company, it is likely to be the owner. In a bigger 

company, it is usually another executive or a pension 

benefits committee. It could also be someone from an 

independent firm that specializes in handling pension 

plans. In any case, the plan administrator keeps the 

employment and pension records for each participant in 

the pension plan. If the pension plan is still intact, then 

the plan administrator is the object of your search.

6. The plan’s annual financial reports may identify the plan’s 

accountant, actuary, trustee, or attorney. One of these 

parties should be able to tell you who can provide up-todate information on the plan. These reports are contained 

in federal Form 5500. For information, call a benefits 

advisor on EBSA’s toll-free hot line (1-866-444-3272), 
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FINDING A LOST PENSION

e-mail through www.askebsa.dol.gov/WebIntake/

Home.aspx, or access the Form 5500 directly at 

www.efast.dol.gov/welcome.html.

But be advised that online access may not go back early 

enough to help you with your search. (Filings for plan 

years prior to 2009 are not displayed.) Another source 

of Form 5500 data is www.FreeERISA.com, which may 

help you find 5500s even if the plan sponsor’s name 

has changed. 

7. A specialized business library may be able to provide 

information about a corporate merger or buyout that 

affected your company. One in particular, the Kirstein 

Business Library (a branch of the Boston Public Library), 

has been very helpful and is not limited to Massachusetts 

companies or callers from Massachusetts. Its address is 

20 City Hall Avenue, Boston, MA 02108 and its phone 

number is 617-859-2142 (8 a.m. - 5 p.m., MondayThursday; 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.) 

8. Your state government requires annual reports from 

corporations. These reports list the names and addresses 

of the corporate officers. The state agency where you 

can request the report varies. It may be the Secretary of 

State’s office or it may have another name. A call to the 

main switchboard of your state capitol building should 

give you the name and phone number of the agency that 

collects these reports. In some cases, contacting one of the 

corporate officers listed in the report may be important in 

finding out what happened to the company.
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

In a great many cases, a lost pension plan can be located 

— and locating it can mean tangible benefits for the 

participant, spouse, or beneficiary who is owed money 

under the pension plan. However, it is hard to tell which 

of these sources will provide the necessary information, 

and sometimes none of them will work. Even experienced 

pension counselors sometimes cannot find a lost pension. 
19

Obstacles

(and Dead Ends) to be

Aware of in Your Search

Over the years, workers (and their spouses) gained more 

rights under the federal pension law — but that means that 

the earlier you earned your benefit, the more likely it is that 

some legal protections that currently apply did not apply 

while you were working. In addition, there may be other 

factors that lead to a dead end in your search. But there is no 

reason to assume the worst. In many cases, you won’t know 

whether you have a pension until you’ve found the pension 

plan. Nevertheless, here are some factors to be aware of once 

you do find your pension plan:

Vesting. Were you vested in the pension plan at the time 

that you left the job? 

Being vested means that, no matter when you leave the job, 

you are eligible for a pension at retirement age. Even if the 

pension fund no longer exists, you may still be able to get 

your pension benefits. (See page 7, “Legal Protections.”)

Today, in most pension plans, you are vested after five 

years on the job. But before the mid-1980s, plans typically 

required 10 years and, before the mid-1970s, 20 years or 

even until the day you retired. If you were not vested in the 

pension plan, you are not entitled to a benefit. This is most 

likely if you only spent a few years on the job before the 

mid-1980s.
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

Rules of Eligibility. Were you eligible for a pension when 

you left the company? 

Private-sector employers must outline their pension plan’s 

rules of eligibility in a document called a summary plan 

description (SPD). You should have received an SPD when 

you joined the plan. As the rules changed, you should have 

received updated documents. The rules in effect at the time 

you left the company are the rules that determine whether 

you have a pension or not. Changes in the rules after you 

leave the company usually do not apply to you.

Summary plan descriptions were required only after 

Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act in 1974. In some cases, however, comparable company 

documents are available for earlier years, especially for 

pension plans that were developed in negotiations between 

management and a union.

When You Left the Job Matters. If you left a job with a 

pension after 1975, you have more rights under federal 

law than if you left earlier (page 7, “Legal Protections.”). 

However, even if you left a job before ERISA became 

effective for your pension plan, you may still be able to 

collect your pension if you met the requirements for a 

benefit before you stopped working for the company.

Spouses’ Rights. Today, defined benefit pension plans must 

provide married workers with a qualified joint and survivor 

annuity (QJSA). A QJSA entitles the worker’s spouse to a 
21

FINDING A LOST PENSION

benefit if the worker dies after retiring. If the spouse has not 

waived the QJSA (see below) and the spouse survives the 

worker, he or she will continue to receive pension payments, 

usually at a reduced amount, for life. In addition, since 

August 23, 1984, defined benefit plans have been 

required to pay a benefit to the spouse if the worker dies 

before retiring. 

Before 1985, many pension plans offered joint-and-survivor 

options but often a worker could choose a different benefit 

form without his or her spouse’s consent. Beginning in 

1985, defined benefit plans were required to pay married 

workers a joint and survivor benefit unless the worker 

waived this form of payment and the spouse consented to 

this waiver in writing. If you are a surviving spouse, it may 

be worth looking for a pension your husband or wife may 

have earned regardless of when he or she left the job.
22

Once You’ve Found the Pension:

Securing Your Benefits

If you find the company (or its successor) you will then have 

to find out what happened to the plan. You are likely to end 

up in contact with one of these potential holders of your 

pension benefits:

•	 The plan administrator of your pension plan (or of 

another plan with which yours has been combined);

•	 An insurance company that pays annuities to eligible 

participants from funds transferred from a terminating 

pension plan;

•	 A financial institution that holds accounts for participants 

who could not be paid because they could not be located; 

or

•	 PBGC, if it took over your pension plan’s obligations, 

or if your pension plan terminated and its plan 

administrator used PBGC’s missing participants program 

when it couldn’t find you.

Regardless of which of these has the pension money, your 

approach to them — your next step — should be similar.

Initial Contact

Contact the plan administrator, the insurance company, 

the financial institution, or PBGC, giving your dates of 
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FINDING A LOST PENSION

employment and offering to provide a copy of the most 

recent individual benefit statement that you have. Ask if 

you were covered and what benefits you are entitled to. If 

the party you contact responds that you are not entitled to 

a pension, ask for a copy of the summary plan description. 

You can read the document to see whether you agree with 

that decision or not.

You should send any correspondence by a delivery method 

that provides confirmation of delivery (e.g., a return receipt). 

 

If You Are Not Satisfied

Insurance company or financial institution. If an 

insurance company controls the funds transferred from the 

pension plan, then the first response you receive is likely to 

be final. When an insurance company takes responsibility 

for a plan, it relies on the employer’s records about who 

is in the plan and what benefits they’re entitled to. The 

same is true for financial institutions where accounts are 

established for participants who cannot be located. If you 

have documents or other evidence that the information in 

the records is wrong, you likely will have to go back to the 

employer to make your case.

PBGC. If PBGC has taken over the pension plan, it also 

accepts the employer’s records. But, you may appeal PBGC’s 

determination of your benefit.
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

Ongoing plan. If the pension plan is still ongoing (or has 

been combined with another employer–sponsored pension 

plan) you also have recourse. If the plan administrator says 

you are not eligible for a pension but you aren’t convinced, 

or if the pension benefits do not seem to add up to what you 

are entitled to, then you should get advice. The best initial 

sources are:

•	 The Employee Benefits Security Administration of the 

U.S. Department of Labor (see Appendix B).

•	 A pension counseling project if there is one in your area 

(see Appendix C).

An EBSA benefit advisor or a pension counselor can look 

over your records and advise you as to whether you have 

been given fair treatment. If you haven’t, they can give 

you free assistance in getting the benefits to which you are 

entitled. They may intervene on your behalf with the plan 

administrator and will advise you about, or assist you in 

following, the plan’s appeals procedure if necessary.

Other Sources of Help

If you should decide you need a lawyer to represent you, 

the National Pension Lawyers Network maintains a list of 

attorneys, in all 50 states, that handle pension claims. For 

more information, visit www.umb.edu/pensionaction/npln

or call the Network at (617) 287-7324. Before deciding 
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FINDING A LOST PENSION

to take on the expense of a lawyer, however, you should 

satisfy yourself that the amount of money that is potentially 

involved is worth the cost.

The American Academy of Actuaries maintains a pension 

help registry consisting of actuaries willing to volunteer to 

help people check the accuracy of pension calculations. This 

list may be accessed through their Web site at www.actuary.

org/content/pension-assistance-list-pal. The Academy is 

at 1850 M Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20036. 

They can be reached by phone at (202) 223-8196 or by 

email to pal@actuary.org.
26

A Final Word

In this booklet, we’ve tried to help you in your search for 

a lost pension, and to explain a few of the factors affecting 

whether you are legally owed one. There are no guarantees 

of success. Perhaps the only certainty is that, if you make no 

effort to locate the pension fund, whatever money may be 

owed to you will never be yours.
27

APPENDIX A

Glossary

Beneficiary: Generally, a person designated by a pension 

plan participant, or by the plan’s terms, to receive some or all 

of the participant’s pension benefits upon the participant’s 

death. (An “Alternate Payee” under a “Qualified Domestic 

Relations Order” also is considered a beneficiary.)

Defined benefit plan: A type of pension plan that promises 

participants specified benefits at retirement. The benefits 

usually are based on the number of years worked for a 

company or in an industry, and they may also be based on 

salary during that time. The employer is responsible for 

maintaining enough money in the pension fund to meet 

the plan’s obligations, usually the payment of a monthly 

annuity to the plan participant and survivor benefits to that 

participant’s spouse.

Defined contribution plan: A plan in which the employer 

and/or the employee put money into the individual account 

for an employee, but in which no specified benefits are 

promised at retirement. The employee is entitled to the 

amount of money put into his or her account, adjusted for 

any income, expenses, gains or losses posted to the account. 

These plans have become increasingly common; examples 

include profit-sharing and 401(k) plans.

EBSA (Employee Benefits Security Administration):

Agency within the U.S. Department of Labor whose 

responsibilities include the regulation of pension plans.
28

ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act):

Federal law passed in 1974 that tightened the standards for 

the administration and funding of pension plans and gave 

regulatory powers to three federal agencies: the Department 

of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Pension 

Benefit Guaranty Corporation. A number of subsequent 

amendments and laws since 1974 have strengthened 

ERISA’s protections.

Multiemployer plan: A collectively bargained plan 

maintained by more than one unrelated employer, usually 

within the same or related industries, and a labor union.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: A federal 

corporation established under ERISA to insure private-sector 

defined benefit pension plans. PBGC takes over the payment 

of pension benefits in cases where corporate sponsors of 

defined benefit pension plans have gone bankrupt, ceased 

operations, or proved to a bankruptcy court or to the PBGC 

that the plan sponsor cannot remain in business unless the 

plan is terminated.

Plan administrator: The person or persons who administer 

the plan. If no one is designated as the administrator in the 

plan document, the employer is considered to be the plan 

administrator. The plan administrator is responsible for 

maintaining the pension plan, keeping records on individual 

participants, overseeing the payment of benefits under the 

plan, and managing the plan assets.

28
29

Vesting: The point at which a participant becomes 

permanently entitled to a benefit at retirement age under 

the terms of the plan, whether or not he or she continues 

to work for the employer. A pension plan will specify the 

length of service required for vesting. A participant who has 

satisfied vesting requirements is said to be “vested” in his or 

her pension benefit.
30

APPENDIX B

Employee Benefits Security

Administration (EBSA)

U.S. Department of Labor

EBSA Office of Outreach, Education and Assistance

200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N5623

Washington, DC 20210

Toll-free hot line: 1-866-444-EBSA (3272)

Web site: www.dol.gov/ebsa/

District Offices

Detroit District Office

211 W. Fort Street, Suite 1310

Detroit, MI 48226-3211

(313) 226-7450

Miami District Office

1000 S Pine Island Road, Suite 100

Plantation, FL 33324

(954) 424-4022

St. Louis District Office

Robert A. Young Federal Bldg.

1222 Spruce Street, Room 6310

St. Louis, MO 63103

(314) 539-2693

Seattle District Office

300 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1110

Seattle, WA 98104

(206) 757-6781
31

Washington District Office

1335 East-West Highway, Suite 200

Silver Spring, MD 20910

(202) 693-8700

Regional Offices

Atlanta Regional Office

61 Forsyth Street, Suite 7B54

Atlanta, GA 30303

(404) 302-3900

Boston Regional Office

JFK Building, Room 575

15 New Sudbury Street

Boston, MA 02203

(617) 565-9600

Chicago Regional Office

John C. Kluczynski Federal Building

230 S. Dearborn Street, Suite 2160

Chicago, IL 60604

(312) 353-0900

Cincinnati Regional Office

1885 Dixie Highway, Suite 210

Ft. Wright, KY 41011-2664

(859) 578-4680
32

Dallas Regional Office

525 South Griffin Street, Room 900

Dallas, TX 75202-5025

(972) 850-4500

Kansas City Regional Office

2300 Main Street, Suite 1100

Kansas City, MO 64108

(816) 285-1800

Los Angeles Regional Office

1055 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 200

Pasadena, CA 91106-2341

(626) 229-1000

New York Regional Office

33 Whitehall Street, Suite 1200

New York, NY 10004

(212) 607-8600

Philadelphia Regional Office

Curtis Center, Suite 870 West

170 S. Independence Mall West

Philadelphia, PA 19106-3317

(215) 861-5300

San Francisco Regional Office

90 7th Street, Suite 11-300

San Francisco, CA 94103

(415) 625-2481
33

APPENDIX C

Pension Counseling Projects

Mid-America Pension Rights Project

(KY, MI, OH, PA, TN)

(866) 735-7737

http://www.mid-americapensions.org/ 

Michigan Pension Rights Office

Legal Hotline for Michigan Seniors

3815 W. St. Joseph’s Street, Suite C200

Lansing, MI 48915

http://elderlawofmi.org/pension_rights_project/index.html

Toll Free: (800) 347-5297

Local: (517) 485-9164

Ohio Pension Rights Office

Pro Seniors, Inc.

7162 Reading Road, Suite 1150

Cincinnati, OH 45237

www.proseniors.org/oh_pension.html

Toll Free: (800) 488-6070

Local: (513) 345-4160
34

Mid-Atlantic Pension Counseling Project

(NJ, NY)

New York Pension Rights Office

South Brooklyn Legal Services

105 Court Street

3rd Floor

Brooklyn, NY 11201

http://www.sbls.org/index.php?id=253

Toll Free: (800) 355-7714

New England Pension Assistance Project

(CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)

New England Pension Assistance Project

Gerontology Institute

University of Massachusetts, Boston

100 Morrissey Boulevard

Boston, MA 02125-3393

www.pensionaction.org

Toll Free (New England): (888) 425-6067

Local: (617) 287-7307
35

South	Central	Pension	Rights	

Project	(AR,	LA,	MO,	OK,	TX)

Texas	Pension	Rights	Office

Texas Legal Services Center

815 Brazos, Suite 1100

Austin, TX 78701

www.southcentralpension.org

Toll	Free:	(800)	443-2528

Upper	Midwest	Pension	Rights	Project

(IA,	MN,	ND,	SD,	WI)

Iowa	Pension	Rights	Office

Iowa Legal Aid

1111 Ninth Street, Suite 230

Des Moines, IA 50314

www.iowalegalaid.org

Toll	Free:	(800)	992-8161

Local:	(515)	282-8161

Fax:	(515)	244-5525

Minnesota	Pension	Rights	Office

Minnesota Senior Federation

1885 University Avenue West, Suite 190

St. Paul, MN 55104

www.midwestpensions.org

Toll	Free:	(866)	783-5021

Local:	(651)	783-5021

Fax:	(651)	641-8969
36

Western States Pension Assistance Project

(AZ, CA, HI, NV)

California Pension Rights Project

California Senior Legal Hotline

444 North Third Street, Suite 312

Sacramento, CA 95811

http://www.seniorlegalhotline.org/

Toll Free: (866) 413-4911

Local: (916) 930-4911
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

1200 K STREET, NW

WASHINGTON, DC 20005-4026

WWW.PBGC.GOV

PBGC PUBLICATION 1012

REVISED APRIL 2013