When it comes to knowing about your pension plan, you have rights. Your plan administrator must make certain documents and information available to you.
The following section is taken directly from the Employee Benefits Security Administration section of the Department of Labor website.
Here are your most basic rights as a pension plan holder:
Every plan is required by law to designate an administrator who must in turn provide you with key facts about your retirement plan. For some facts, however, you will need to inquire in writing. Upon written request, those additional facts should be provided to you.
Your plan administrator must provide you with a document called a Summary Plan Description, or SPD. If you are a participant in – or receiving benefits under – an ERISA-covered retirement plan, you should receive a free SPD. You should not have to request an SPD, as your administrator should send one to you automatically when you become a member. If they don’t, contact them and/or the Department of Labor and let them know.
The Summary Plan Description tells you what the plan provides and how it operates. It tells you when you begin to participate in the plan, how your service and benefits are calculated, when your benefit becomes vested, when you will receive payment and in what form, and how to file a claim for benefits.
If a plan is changed, you must be informed, either through a revised Summary Plan Description, or in a separate document, called a Summary of Material Modifications, which also must be given to you free of charge.
In addition to the summary plan description, the plan administrator must automatically give you each year a copy of the plan’s Summary Annual Report. This is a summary of the annual financial report that most retirement plans must file with the Department of Labor. These reports are filed on government forms called Form 5500. The Summary Annual Report is available to you at no cost.
In addition to the Summary Annual Report, you may also ask your plan administrator for a copy of the Annual Report in its entirety.
If you have information that plan assets are being mismanaged or misused, call the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s toll free number at 1.866.444.EBSA and ask to speak with a regional office representative near you.
Visit our Pension Legal Help section were you will find a listing of the six regional pension counseling and information projects sponsored by the Administration on Aging (AoA).
Cornell Law School
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Pension
Cornell Law offers an online resource for law learning in relation to Pensions. |
