Documentation laws & pension plan participation

[WhiteCollarWorker]

I am employed by a New York company (since the early 1990s) where I had initially been in their defined benefit pension plan (aka traditional pension). In the early 2000s we were told about the option to switch to a cash balance pension plan or stay with the defined benefit plan. I vaguely remember a website we were instructed to visit in the 2000s where we were to make some type of choice regarding staying/leaving the defined contribution pension for the cash balance pension. I don't have any recollection of what choices there were to make, what the website looked like, or even what would happen if I did not go online and just ignored making any choice.

Fast-forward 30 years and the 3rd-party website our company uses to manage/display retirement benefits shows I'm in a cash balance plan. But, here's the thing... I'm almost positive that I did not accept being changed to the cash balance plan (as I remembered my colleagues' advice to stay in the defined contribution plan) and so I'm considering pressing HR/Retirement departments at our organization for actual proof/documentation/signatures/etc. for this change I supposedly authorized.

NOTE: I understand that I should have paid more attention over the last couple of decades to my retirement plans, but as a young employee back then I just "set it and forget it". Now that retirement is in sight I'm trying to understand what income will be available to me. Also, I'm of the belief that it's entirely possible I did accept switching plans and just didn't remember doing so (but I still would like proof).

What types of documentation does my employer by law have to provide to show I gave permission to switch plans?

Is there a statue of limitations with my challenge?

 

[Paul I]

Is it fair to assume that you have determined that the benefits you would have earned in the defined contribution plan somehow are more valuable that the benefits you earned in the cash balance plan?  If not, what is your motivation for asking the question?

Moving on, let's assume that you do not have any documentation of your choice and your employer is unable to find any documentation of your choice.  You should expect that your employer will point to all of the benefit statements and plan disclosures that they have sent to you over the past couple of decades explaining your cash balance benefits to you as evidence that you chose the cash balance option roughly 20 years ago.

If you are going to pursue this, you should start by follow the claims procedure in the SPD for the defined contribution plan.  You should be prepared to provide information about the basis for your claim.  If the claim is rejected, you can appeal.  If you lose the appeal, you can take it to court.  If you are going to go down that path, you are going to invest a lot of time and expense for something you admit you have no documented reason for making the claim.

Do not be surprised if your efforts are unrewarded.

[WhiteCollarWorker]

20 hours ago, Paul I said:

Is it fair to assume that you have determined that the benefits you would have earned in the defined contribution plan somehow are more valuable that the benefits you earned in the cash balance plan?  If not, what is your motivation for asking the question?

Moving on, let's assume that you do not have any documentation of your choice and your employer is unable to find any documentation of your choice.  You should expect that your employer will point to all of the benefit statements and plan disclosures that they have sent to you over the past couple of decades explaining your cash balance benefits to you as evidence that you chose the cash balance option roughly 20 years ago.

If you are going to pursue this, you should start by follow the claims procedure in the SPD for the defined contribution plan.  You should be prepared to provide information about the basis for your claim.  If the claim is rejected, you can appeal.  If you lose the appeal, you can take it to court.  If you are going to go down that path, you are going to invest a lot of time and expense for something you admit you have no documented reason for making the claim.

Do not be surprised if your efforts are unrewarded.

Thank you for your response, Paul. I updated my earlier message to correct the comparison from defined CONTRIBUTION to defined BENEFIT, as that was the terminology I intended. I haven't calculated or been shown what my benefits would be under a defined benefit plan, so perhaps the cash balance plan might still be the better option!

I'm asking about documentation retention requirements because I had always assumed I was part of what employees referred to as "the old plan"  -- a traditional defined benefit plan. Now that I see that's not the case, I'm curious about what documented proof exists that would confirm plan changes were approved by me.

Given the extensive documentation and signatures required for any serious financial matter (changes in spousal beneficiaries, opening accounts, etc.), I would expect there to be some form of proof of informed consent and authorization. This might include, but not limited to, documentation showing physical or electronic (notarized?) signatures.

[R Griffith]

You may be correct, but there also could have been a default election.  For example, if you didn't elect to stay in the traditional DB Plan you were automatically moved to the Cash Balance plan.  So, there may be no election form and you are where you are.  I agree with Paul, go ahead and ask, but be prepared that there might not be any records.  Each organization has their own retention policies, and I don't believe there is any specified rules/regulations about retention in the rules of retirement plans (other than the necessary information to determine vesting and eligibility benefits).  Good Luck.