Frozen pension Plan

[Guest bmurphy]

Hello,

I am working with a client who has funds in Kmart's "frozen" retirement plan. She no longer receives statements & says that when she tries to contact the company for information she gets nowhere. Looking for other possible avenues for her to explore to see what she's got. Thank you.

[AndyH]

what kind of plan is it? If it's a DB plan, then you should consider moving this question to the DB section; otherwise you might want to try Retirement Plans in General unless of couse it is a 401(k) plan in which case "nevermind" comes to mind.

[mbozek]

K Mart filed for bankruptcy protection last year. You may have to contact the bankruptcy trustee for information. If its a DB plan contact the PBGC.

[david rigby]

Just because K-mart filed for bankruptcy doesn't mean that the plan is frozen or terminated.

Today, the K-mart website includes "Retirement Savings Plan (with company matching contribution)" in the list of employee benefits. Sounds like a 401(k) plan. However, www.freeERISA.com includes information from the 2000 plan year of a DB plan, so it probably has been frozen.

The original post implies that the employee has severed employment. How long ago?

"...no longer receives statements.." What was the frequency in the past? Do former employees get statements as often as current employees? Has the employee contacted the company (see correct address in the summary plan description) in writing?

[mbozek]

Pax: When an employer files for bankruptcy the qualified plans fall under the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy trustee who has more important things to do than administer the plan. I have been involved in several employer bkcys and the benefit admin issues are extremely difficult to resolve bevcause the HR staff is usually decimated and expenditures have to be approved by the trustee or the bankruptcy judge.