Our Pension Project can help clients understand their rights and claim the benefits they’ve earned, regardless of the type of company they worked for or the type of pension plan involved.
The South Central Pension Rights Project (SCPRP) at TLSC helps individuals understand and exercise their pension rights. We provide services free of charge to workers and retirees or their family members who currently live or work in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Attorneys can answer questions about complicated pension laws and how they affect retirement. Attorneys can also help correct pension miscalculations, claim retirement benefits that have been denied, track down benefits from past employers, and prepare Qualified Domestic Relations Orders.
Navigating a Complex Retirement System
The nation's retirement system is vast. Private employers sponsor more than 685,000 private retirement plans and 535,000 401(k) plans — each with its own set of rules. Federal, State, and local government employers bring thousands more plans into the mix. Each of these private and public plans represents a multifaceted interaction of federal and state labor and tax laws.
Additionally, pension plan underfunding, terminations, and freezes affect millions of workers and retirees each year. Thousands more are unable to locate their retirement benefits because their former employer has changed its name, merged with another, relocated, or gone out of business altogether. Even when a plan sponsor is identifiable, many workers apply for their pensions and learn that their benefits have been miscalculated or denied. Navigating pensions without knowledgeable assistance is difficult at best — and nearly impossible for some.
Investigating and Advancing Claims
Our attorneys offer personalized assistance in obtaining earned retirement income, including locating lost benefits from former employers and resolving disputes over benefit eligibility or amounts. Finding the information is a lot of the battle. There is not currently a centralized online database that connects participant name, birthdate, or Social Security Number to the plan information. Additionally, changes in a company name, location, or operational status make retirement plans associated with the company illusive.
Therefore, attorneys must be part detectives, obtaining and evaluating the retirement plan documents and other information (such as employment and earnings records) necessary to calculate or claim benefits or exercise pension rights. Attorneys also draft benefit claims and appeals, negotiate benefit settlement agreements, and conduct communications on behalf of the client.
Last year, the Pension Rights Project recovered more than $1,756,000 in benefits for our clients. Since the program began in 2008, our attorneys have recovered almost $29 million.
Getting Help
Our services are free of charge, regardless of age, income, or the amount of the benefit sought. Our attorneys can assist with a wide range of retirement income plans offered by both private and government employers, including defined benefit plans, hybrid pension plans, defined contribution plans (like 401(k) plans), and other profit-sharing plans. All services are offered remotely.
South Central Pension Rights Project
Monday - Friday | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
800.443.2528
Learn more about legal services that offering support, education, and guidance for legal matters that affect us later in life at tlsc.org/seniors.