Benefit Valuation

[Guest papillon]

Hi all - most of my posts have been on the QDRO side, but this is a more general question.

I'm an active employee of AT&T and Fidelity is the record keeper for my Pension fund and 401K. I need to have a valuation of MY Pension - as of a particular date. (I need two of these in fact.)

I requested:

A valuation of my pension - effective June 8, 2000 (date of marraige)

A valuation of my pension - effective Feb 19, 2004 (date of divorce)

After three weeks - Fidelity replied, "We cannot provide the value of this benefit without a court-ordered subpoena."

As additional context, Fidelity was not the record keeper until April 2005. Obtaining historical valuations may require research with the prior record keeper. My retirement funds have also been subject to fraudulent activity. My ex-wife submitted a fryaudulent DRO against my 401K. This has resulted in restraining orders against Fidelity, Vacating the Fraudulent QDRO, and Order and Judgement of Contempt, and an ERISA complaint. Lots of litigation - but all resolved now except the contempt order against my ex-wife. She's a fugitive with a warrant...

As such, I can't easily determine if Fidelity is requiring a subpeona becuase its HARD to calcualte the value of the pension - or if they simply want me to jump through hoops based on all of the other litigation.

Two questions:

1) do I have a legal right to historical valuations on my pension?

2) if not, can I proceed - pro se - and subpeona the records as part of one of the many actions that might be relevant. (the divorce seems most likely, but I also have an order and judgement of contempt related to the QDRO fraud which is more recent...)

What think ye?

Cheers,

Bjorn

[Kimberly S]

As a TPA, we would only release information to or at the request of the plan sponsor or trustee because we have a contract with them. Absent that, we would probably also require a subpoena.

Fidelity probably doesn't have the information you need. If they took over the plan in April of 2005, it is highly unlikely they have any records before January 1, 2005 (assuming it is a calendar year plan). The prior record keeper is who you should be contacting.

Depending on how frequently the plan is/was valued, it may not be possible to get values as of those exact dates. If you have quarterly statements near those dates, you should be able to get an idea of what the investments are and seach for changes in value between the statement date and the date you need.

[Guest papillon]

As a TPA, we would only release information to or at the request of the plan sponsor or trustee because we have a contract with them. Absent that, we would probably also require a subpoena.

Fidelity probably doesn't have the information you need. If they took over the plan in April of 2005, it is highly unlikely they have any records before January 1, 2005 (assuming it is a calendar year plan). The prior record keeper is who you should be contacting.

Depending on how frequently the plan is/was valued, it may not be possible to get values as of those exact dates. If you have quarterly statements near those dates, you should be able to get an idea of what the investments are and seach for changes in value between the statement date and the date you need.

Thanks Kim.

You hit the nail on the head. As an employee - I am not Fidelity's customer. Fidelity's duty is and should be to its corporate client, AT&T. It would then be AT&T's responsibility to ensure that Fidelity's execution met standards the corporation found appropriate for the covered employees.

If one looks at the treatement that AT&T has been offering its employees as of late (freezing the pension, reducing tuition reimbursement, involuntary transitioning of employees to contractor status, stagnant salary and promotion); the focus is attrition - and not employee satisfaction. I don't know this for certain - but I suspect that Fidelity's contract is somewhat less expensive that the previous record keeper. I can say for a fact that Fidelity's execution ( as measured by their quality of service, types of services offered, and customer service ) does not in any way match the prior record keeper - Hewitt.

But back to my issue... Fidelity states that for records prior to April 2005 - Fidelity may need to research with the prior record keeper. I don't have any channel to Hewitt. And I expect Hewitt has even less incentive to satisfy my request than Fidelity.

I have quarterly statements indicating the approximate value; however, it would be preferable if a calculation could be obtained independent of my records - which to some would be of dubious provenance. If necessary - I'll seek a subpeona to obtain the information from Fidelity.

One does wonder though about the fiduciary duty here... If its prudent for me to keep cancelled checks / tax returns / etc for 7 years - would it not be obligatory for the record keeper (both past and present) to ensure that continuity of records was maintained for a reasonable period - even across a change in record keeper? Given the divorce rate - it would seem that this sort of historical valuation would need to occur pretty frequently...

Of course, I manage software development teams - and not pension plans. :-)

Cheers,

Bjorn

[Bird]

If it's pain and agony you want, just poke yourself in the eye with a sharp stick. Fidelity is awful to deal with in a normal situation; thinking you're going to have any luck getting them to get something of that detail from a prior recordkeeper is pretty near hopeless. The value of getting the exact valuations on those exact days, versus interpolating from quarterly statements, has to be marginal at best.

[Guest papillon]

If it's pain and agony you want, just poke yourself in the eye with a sharp stick. Fidelity is awful to deal with in a normal situation; thinking you're going to have any luck getting them to get something of that detail from a prior recordkeeper is pretty near hopeless. The value of getting the exact valuations on those exact days, versus interpolating from quarterly statements, has to be marginal at best.

I agree that the difference between my quarterly statements and an exact valuation would be minimal.

Unfortunately, the quarterly Pension statements in my possesion may not be sufficient for negotiation with my ex. In past court actions - she has questioned the authenticity and completeness of records I produce from my files. (E.g. During the 401K QDRO fiasco - her attorney demanded we produce from Fidelity every 401K quarterly statement going back 7 years. With an executive complaint from AT&T, Fidelity produced them - all 196 pages... )

An accurate, indisputable valuation from a neutral third party is the type of documentation I prefer to take to court. Anyone have a sharp stick? (smile).

Cheers,

Bjorn