By Sandra Wisnewski, J.D., Director of Client Assistance

The Mid-America Pension Rights Project (MAPRP) assists clients with pension and 401(k) issues. There are no age or income restrictions and there is never a charge for services. The MAPRP works to find answers and solutions to your pension-related problem. Just ask Mr. M.

Mr. M worked for a company for over 30 years and was positive that he was only receiving part of the pension he had earned. Mr. M contacted the company and was told by the representative that he didn’t deserve a pension benefit and that the pension benefit that he was speaking about had been eliminated.

Mr. M. contacted the MAPRP. The MAPRP attorney who was assigned to Mr. M’s case started by sending a written inquiry to the company’s benefit center. After many weeks of receiving no response, the attorney contacted the benefit center by phone. The representative told the attorney that she could not give the attorney any information because Mr. M was not on the phone at the time of the call. The representative would not give the attorney any information about the case but did say that no response would be provided to Mr. M or the attorney.

At this point, the attorney escalated the matter. Again, weeks went by and the attorney did not receive a response. The attorney contacted the plan again, by phone. The representative told the attorney that he could not look up Mr. M’s case and that he didn’t know why or when he would be able to.

Once again, the attorney escalated the matter. This time she was contacted by the plan within three days. The representative said that Mr. M’s case was now their top priority and that they would have a determination for the attorney and Mr. M soon. Shortly afterwards, Mr. M received a benefit packet and received a lump sum payment of his benefit!

The Pension Project is funded by the Federal government through a grant provided by the Administration for Community Living, and is a program of Elder Law of Michigan, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

Since the program began in 1998, the Pension Project has assisted over 13,000 clients and has recovered over 66 million dollars in pension benefits. The Pension Project assists clients in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. For more information, visit www.mid-americapensions.org.

If you need help with or information about your pension or 401(k) benefit, please call the Mid-America Pension Rights Project at 866-735-7737 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced attorneys.