Furnishing Participants Documents

[BFree]

Is there anything comparable to an annual statement that I may request from my prior employer's DB plan?

I'm looking for something to confirm that they know that I have benefit under the plan. Some years back, I requested (and received) the calculation of my lump sum and age-65 payouts.

Thank you.

[david rigby]

Lump sum? Usually this is not calculated unless someone expects it to be paid. Was it paid? If so, then you have (probably) received the entire value of your benefit. (Note, there are a few unusual circumstances where you might have received a lump sum but a portion of your benefit remains, to be paid at retirement age.)

If you have received a statement of a benefit payable at age 65, then that is probably all you will get. You should probably consider it your responsibility to keep the company informed about your current mailing address and to notify the company when you are ready to commence benefits. If you are eligible to commence benefits at some early retirement age, then it will be your job to notify them. (They would probably appreciate about a 3-4 month advance notice.)

[BFree]

The lump needed to be calculated to see if I was over or under the $5,000 cash-out limit. Since I was over, I couldn't receive a lump-sum. Whether or not it was their duty to tell me the exact amount of the accrued benefit, they did.

I am interested in current lump-sum values in the event that the plan is amended to allow immediate payouts. While I may not be able to calculate my present value, I can track year-to-year changes in value.

Thanks for the other info.

[Gary]

I don't know how old you are, but it appears that they have already told you your age 65 benefit. They should have also communicated the earliest age that you can receive a pension and what that amount would be (or at least an estimate). If you don't have that information you might as well request it from the Plan administrator. If you are over age 55, I would imagine that you may very well entitled to a benefit at this time.

Gary