Participant eligible for retirement benefits??

[chris]

Client of mine was employed by a County Hospital for approximately 17 years until 1974. Client left employment. At time client left, Hospital's retirement plan required 20 years service and age 55 for full benefits. Hospital rehired client two and a half years later promising client that prior years of service would count under new retirement plan. Client worked additional 3 1/2 years and then terminated in 1979. Sometime after termination, Hospital employee told client that "he did not think client was eligible for any benefits". Client has asked me to look into the matter. If this were a current plan issue I would normally request a copy of the summary plan description. However, given the lapse of time, and other than calling the HR department at the Hospital, I don't know how to go about getting information to verify if client was/is eligible for retirement benefits. Any suggestions?

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[KIP KRAUS]

Chris:

Being that your client worked for a county hospital I'm guessing that he might have been in a 403(B) plan, which I don't know that much about. However, it seems highly unlikely that he would not be eligible for some kind of vested benefit after being in the plan for 17 years.

I would request a copy of the plan document in effect in 1974 when he left the hospital and any amendments thereto through his most recent last date of employment with them. Just because it was some time ago, I still feel the hospital must be administering their plan in accordance with a plan document that indicates how deferred vested benefits were calculated back then.

If the hospital will not cooperate, go to directly to the plan trustee.

I would be very interested in what you find out. You can e-mail me at kkraus@lappinsulator.com

[Dowist]

You'd have to review the plan summaries and the plan documents in effect when he left and when he came back. It was not uncommon for plans back then to say that if you left before you were eligible for employment, that you lost everything, even if you came back later.

It's possible that the plan was the State's plan - if so, it was probably set forth in the state statutes. In any case, as a governmental employer, there is probably something in the state statutes of that time that limits the governmental employer's authority to establish a retirement plan.

You might also consider posting this message on the governmental plan board - the rules applicable to governmental plans are different - and require a state by state analysis.

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