In December 1996, PBGC set up the Pension Search Directory on the Internet so American workers and others could search on their own to find out if they are owed a pension from former employers. People listed in the Directory are either workers with pensions whose former employers closed fully-funded pension plans, or workers missing from underfunded pension plans taken over by PBGC because the sponsoring companies could no longer support them. Listed are the names of people who are missing a pension, the companies they once worked for, and the states where company headquarters are located. People can search the site by name, state, or company. The vast majority of workers receive their full pension, but sometimes people move and forget to inform past employers of their new address.
People sometimes forget to tell former employers they have moved, changed jobs or changed names.
I'm glad PBGC found me and was there to give me my pension. Even though she had closed out several pension plans, she didn't know that another plan still had her listed under her old name. PBGC periodically updates the Directory to remove names of people who have been found and add new people. Currently, about 7,200 people are listed in the directory, along with some 1,000 companies where they had worked, many in the transportation, machinery, retail trade, apparel and financial services industries. The companies are located in 46 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, with a majority of the missing people who are owed pensions having worked for companies located in California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.