Pension Benefits: What You Need to Know and How Morgan & Morgan Can Help

Key Takeaways

• Pension plans are meant to protect you and your future, but only if plan administrators/fiduciaries respect their duties.
• Laws like ERISA and institutions like PBGC exist to provide safeguards, but you must sometimes assert your rights to access them.
• Errors, omissions, mismanagement, or lack of disclosure can all reduce what you rightfully deserve.
• Morgan & Morgan has the experience and resources to help you navigate pension laws, file claims, and work toward full recovery.

When you’ve spent years contributing to a pension plan, the idea is simple: when it’s time, you get the benefits you’ve earned. 

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always turn out that way. Your employer could disappear, the plan could be mismanaged, or you may even suspect you aren’t getting what you’re entitled to. 

Federal law provides protections, but only if you know your rights, and only if someone enforces them. 

That’s where knowing how pensions, fiduciary duties, and the law work together can make all the difference. At Morgan & Morgan, we help workers fight to secure the benefits they deserve.

If you’ve been denied the pension benefits you earned, contact us today for a free case evaluation to learn more about your legal options.

What Is a Pension, and Who Qualifies?

A pension plan is one of the ways employers help employees save for retirement. There are two main types of pension plans:

• Defined Benefit Plans: These guarantee a specific retirement benefit—your payout is more certain and based on formulas tied to years of service, salary history, age, etc.
• Defined Contribution Plans: Think 401(k)s, 403(b)s, etc. You contribute money (sometimes with employer matching), but the final benefit depends on how the investments perform.

According to the Pension Rights Center, only about 22% of workers participate in any pension plan. Many people in public service or in certain unionized roles still get pensions, but for many others, defined-contribution plans are increasingly the norm.

Legal Protections: ERISA and PBGC

If you’re in the private sector and covered by a pension plan, you’re likely protected by ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974). ERISA:

• Requires pension plan administrators to follow certain rules in managing the funds (fiduciary duty, regular audits, disclosure to participants, etc.).
• Guarantees certain protections even if a pension plan is terminated. When a defined benefit plan terminates without sufficient assets, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency, may step in to make sure that retirees still get their benefits, up to certain limits.
  
   

Common Problems: What Can Go Wrong

There are several reasons you might not receive the pension benefits you believe you should:

• Employer insolvency or plan termination. If a company goes bankrupt or dissolves the plan without enough funding, PBGC can cover many (but not all) of the guaranteed benefits.
• Mismanagement or breach of fiduciary duty. Fiduciaries are legally obligated to act in your best interest. Some issues include:
  • Diverting or misusing funds for someone’s personal use.
  • Failing to monitor the investments or permitting overly risky or underperforming investments.
  • Not providing required disclosures or withholding information.
  • Not reviewing the plan periodically (this includes failing to check financial health, investments, and compliance).
• Errors or omissions in benefit calculation. Things like wage miscalculations, years-of-service misposted, or misapplication of plan rules can reduce what you receive.
• Denial of survivor or post-death benefits. Many plans include “survivor benefits” (for spouses or dependents) after the death of the participant. Sometimes these are overlooked or denied, especially if paperwork wasn’t updated or if plan rules weren’t followed.
  
   

Your Rights When Things Go Wrong

When it comes to your pension plan, there are certain elements that you are legally entitled to and actions you can take when things go wrong.

For instance, under ERISA, you can insist on full transparency. Your plan must provide summary plan descriptions (SPDs), annual reports, and be clear about how benefits are calculated.

If you suspect breach of fiduciary duty, you can take legal action. This may lead to restoring money wrongly taken or lost, plus sometimes penalties or other remedies.

And if you’re eligible for survivor benefits, ensure your plan knows who your dependents are. Ensure all relevant documentation (marriage, birth, etc.) is current and submitted.

Types of Pension Funds and Important Distinctions

Understanding which type of plan you have matters. It affects what protections apply, how benefits are calculated, and who is responsible for them. Here are a few distinctions:

• Private vs. public plans: Private plans are subject to ERISA; many public plans are governed by state laws, which may offer different protections.
• Contribution matching: Some plans (especially defined contribution ones) permit employer matching, which increases your benefit—but usually only if you meet certain eligibility or vesting requirements.
• Vesting: Periods of vesting (the amount of time you need to be employed before earning the right to benefits) are crucial. If you leave employment before vesting, you may be entitled to only your contributions or none, depending on the plan.
• Portability: Some plans let you roll over your vested benefits into another retirement plan if you change employers; others do not.
  
   

How to Protect Your Pension

Here are some proactive steps you can take to protect what you’ve earned:

• Keep accurate records: Save pay stubs, benefit statements, notices, contract/employment papers.
• Check plan documents regularly: Review Summary Plan Description, annual reports, and any notices sent to participants.
• Update your personal information: Make sure the plan has your correct address, family status, and other vital details.
• Make sure you're vested: Know how long you need to be with your employer to earn full benefits.
• Watch for warning signs: If the plan administrator misses deadlines, fails to give required notices, misses contributions, or performs poorly with the investment, those are red flags.
  
   

What to Do if You Think Your Pension Rights Have Been Violated

1. Gather information: Collect your plan documents, past statements, correspondence, and any evidence of missing benefits or errors.
2. Reach out to plan administrators: Often, a dispute can be resolved by asking formally for an explanation, correction, or re-calculation. Use certified mail or another trackable method so there’s a paper trail.
3. Check with PBGC (if applicable): If your defined benefit plan has been terminated, PBGC might be stepping in. You can contact them to see if you qualify for guarantees.
4. Consult an attorney experienced in pension and ERISA law: Lawsuits (or even formal claims) under ERISA are technical, with strict deadlines, specific document and notice requirements. An experienced law firm, like Morgan & Morgan, knows how to build a case, file all necessary claims, and pursue full recovery.
    

Also, watch out for statute of limitations. If too much time passes, you might lose your ability to sue for benefits or violations. Different states and different types of plans have different deadlines; ERISA itself imposes certain windows.

Getting Started: What to Do Now

1. Locate all plan-related documents you have (annual statements, summary plan descriptions, benefit communications).
2. Note important dates, such as when employment ended, when contributions stopped, marriage dates, etc.
3. Contact your plan administrator if you believe there’s a discrepancy; ask for an explanation, and get it in writing.
4. Document everything, including emails, letters, and phone calls.
5. Reach out to us at Morgan & Morgan to discuss your situation. We can clarify your rights, determine whether a legal claim is warranted, and help you move forward.

How Morgan & Morgan Helps

At Morgan & Morgan, we understand pension law can be complicated, but you shouldn’t have to grapple with it alone. 

When you work with us, we begin by examining your pension plan, what documentation you have, your benefit statements, and any correspondence or notices from your employer or plan administrator.

If fiduciaries are failing in their duties, like mismanaging funds, not providing required disclosures, making errors in benefit calculations, we pinpoint those violations. If you believe you or your family are owed survivor benefits, we help establish the entitlement and ensure your dependents receive what’s due under the plan.

We guide you through your rights every step of the way, informing you of what you should expect, what documents you need, what deadlines apply, and what could happen next.

If you or your family are concerned that pension benefits have been mishandled or that rights have been violated, contact us today. Someone should not lose decades of retirement security because of mismanagement or unfair practice. 

Hiring one of our lawyers is easy, and you can get started in minutes with a free case evaluation.