PBGC pension search program finds 6,600 people owed $21 million

Since launching its Pension Search Directory on the Internet in December 1996, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has located approximately 6,600 people eligible for $21 million in pension benefits.

This includes about 4,800 people owed $10 million who were found in the past year. In that period, 6,800 new names were added to the directory, for a total of 12,000 missing pension plan participants. Altogether, they have $27 million coming from plans that companies terminated before all beneficiaries could be located.

"As more and more people have access to the Web, many are getting the chance to check out the Pension Search Directory to see if there's unclaimed retirement money waiting for them or someone they know," said David M. Strauss, executive director of the PBGC. The Washington, D.C.-based PBGC is a federal corporation created under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to guarantee payment of basic pension benefits earned by American workers and retirees.

The 6,600 people located to date by the Pension Search Program come from 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Over half are from five states: 1,089 in New York, 969 in California, 399 in Ohio, 376 in Pennsylvania, and 374 in Texas. Benefits for those found averaged $4,200, ranging from $2.00 to $111,000.

Of the 12,000 missing participants in the Pension Search Directory, over half are from six states: 2,038 in California, 1,901 in New York, 840 in Texas, 609 in New Jersey, 608 in Michigan and 607 in Illinois. Their benefits average about $2,600, ranging from under $1.00 to $196,000.

Once people find their names in the Pension Search Directory, they provide more personal details to PBGC for verification of identity, including proof of age and other vital statistics. The identification process generally takes 4-6 weeks. After PBGC receives a completed application, people eligible for a benefit begin receiving checks within two months. Those entitled to future benefits will receive them when they reach retirement age.

Many of the names in the Pension Search Directory are workers with pensions whose former employers closed pension plans and distributed benefits. Others are workers or retirees missing from underfunded pension plans taken over by PBGC because the plans did not have enough money to pay benefits. To avoid becoming a missing pension plan participant, workers should hold on to any pension-related information and make sure to tell their employer when they move or change names.

Edited by Steve Tarnoff