Hartford man seeks pension help from Contact 6, frustrated by wait
HARTFORD, Wis. - For John Blasky of Hartford, claiming a pension wasn’t easy. The company’s bankruptcy made tracking down his money more complicated.
Blasky got his dog, Maggie, as a gift for his wife. The new puppy made his wife smile before her death from ovarian cancer in 2013.
"Paula Jean Welsh. A beautiful woman," Blasky recalled to Contact 6.
Paula Welsh
Welsh had cancer for four years, allowing her time to make arrangements for her final wishes. That included making Blasky her pension’s primary beneficiary.
"She was highly organized. Much more so than I," said Blasky.
Welsh would be 65. Fidelity managed her pension fund back in 2010 when she made her pension arrangements. Blasky called Fidelity about Welsh’s pension in October.
"I was told that they no longer administered the pension plan," said Blasky.
John Blasky
Welsh was a code writer at Briggs and Stratton. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020. That meant it could reorganize and remain open, but it couldn’t keep its pension plan going.
Welsh's pension went to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
"The PBGC is a governmental arm. They take over pension plans that are either defaulted, underfunded or closed," explained Preston Cherry, spokesperson for the Financial Planning Association of Wisconsin.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
The PBGC insures private sector pension plans. Briggs and Stratton’s plan has nearly 5,000 participants and ended in September 2020. Participants in the plan can find information online.
Cherry says pensions are clearly going by the wayside.
"For a long time, pensions were the No. 1 retirement go-to," said Cherry. "Gold pen and check in the mail."
Today, a 401(k) is more common, but it’s possible to lose track of that money, too. It can happen when a company is sold, the worker switches jobs or they move addresses.
Ruben Chapa, regional director for the Employee Benefits Security Administration in Chicago, recommends anyone with a 401(k) call past employers periodically to make sure they’re getting mail about their plan.
"In today’s world, where people move around often, it’s important that the employer knows where you’re at," said Chapa.
Chapa says it’s also important that any beneficiaries are in-the-know. He recommends keeping documentation of a pension alongside a will to make sure beneficiaries don’t miss out.
As for Blasky, he eventually learned from Fidelity that Welsh’s pension went to the PBGC. A PBGC representative told him it might take months to establish any benefit.
"I was trying to accept the fact that they were a government agency and nothing really happens fast," said Blasky.
Blasky says after 10 months, he wrote to Contact 6. The consumer segment sent his submission to the PBGC.
"At 4 o’clock that same afternoon, I received a call from Washington, DC, saying, ‘Oh, we’re so terribly sorry. We just found the paperwork,'" said Blasky.
Paula Welsh
Since then, Blasky says he got a case manager, and they’ve been in constant contact. He mailed the PBGC copies of birth certificates, his marriage certificate and Welsh’s death certificate. Soon after, he got an application with his payment structure included. It’s about $308 a month.
"It’s not life-changing money, but it will certainly allow me to keep pace with rising inflation," said Blasky. "It makes a difference."
The pension was a small gift from Welsh to Blasky, and one of many exchanged throughout a happy marriage.
Blasky mailed in his pension application to the PBGC and expects it will be approved.
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If you’ve lost track of any retirement benefits, call the employer who provided the plan, or you can call a benefit advisor at the Employee Benefit Security Administration at 1-866-444-3272. An advisor may suggest contacting the Social Security Administration to request a report of all previous employers.
You can find out if the PBGC took over your pension benefit payments online.