On Inheriting a pension

[BlueAlpha1]

I know this is a terrible place to ask this question to strangers on the internet but if anyone has done this before it'd be greatly appreciated.

My father died in 2014 and had a pension from the New York Times. The spouse is entitled to 50%, and my mother was married to him for 20 years out of his 40 year career, so she is an alternate payee for half of that 50%. In short, my mom inherited 25% of the total in the form of annuities.

Because they were divorced, he was eligible to name anyone else as the beneficiary for any other benefits. He picked me back in 2011. But now they're claiming to have never got the form. I told them I'd resend a signed and dated copy from 2011 and they said they'd review it.

What are the chances they'll accept it? And does anyone know if I'll get the remaining 75% in there? Or 50%? Or a fixed number, say up to $10,000. The form says "your beneficiary will be eligible to receive a portion of your funds in the event of your death" and they won't talk to me until they have that form. I don't know if this is based on US law or if each pension is different.

The document is true and legal and even if they "didn't get it" back then they'll be able to verify his signature and what his intentions were pretty easily.

Do I need a lawyer for this?

 

[speed dawg]

I know this is a terrible place to ask this question to strangers on the internet but if anyone has done this before it'd be greatly appreciated.

My father died in 2014 and had a pension from the New York Times. The spouse is entitled to 50%, and my mother was married to him for 20 years out of his 40 year career, so she is an alternate payee for half of that 50%. In short, my mom inherited 25% of the total in the form of annuities.

Because they were divorced, he was eligible to name anyone else as the beneficiary for any other benefits. He picked me back in 2011. But now they're claiming to have never got the form. I told them I'd resend a signed and dated copy from 2011 and they said they'd review it.

What are the chances they'll accept it? And does anyone know if I'll get the remaining 75% in there? Or 50%? Or a fixed number, say up to $10,000. The form says "your beneficiary will be eligible to receive a portion of your funds in the event of your death" and they won't talk to me until they have that form. I don't know if this is based on US law or if each pension is different.

The document is true and legal and even if they "didn't get it" back then they'll be able to verify his signature and what his intentions were pretty easily.

Do I need a lawyer for this?

Never done it, but I have to believe they NYT would still have something that showed where he listed his beneficiaries.

Did he have a will, where he listed you?

 

[taiyuu_otoko]

Do I need a lawyer for this?

If I were in your situation, that is what would I would do. Pension funds are by and large, pretty broke. So they'll ONLY pay you if they absolutely have to.

Shop around, or ask others here how to do that. Despite having a brother in law and a good friend who are both successful practicing attorneys, I'd be clueless how to hire my own.

 

[Von]

In Canada.... Kids can't get the annuities of a pension fund... It's stay between parents (partners)

Your mom should have the 50% depending on the law of the states and the pension form.

If allowed by law and If you have the paper, they will send what's on it.... so you should have 25% you - 25% the mom.

Note: Sometimes annuities goes down due to pension stabilization % and also governement tax compatibility... I have a client who his getting his pension from his hometown... but he moved to Asia few years ago... so the pension was ajusted to meet the ''tax laws'' of the foreign country.

If you live in a different states, law, it could play...

Also be aware it could take time, pension companies are worst than insurance

 

[BlueAlpha1]

Thank you all for your replies. To the person who asked, there was no will.

I will not be talking to a lawyer yet, because there is time for that if things don't go smoothly. However I have a copy of the plan and a list of questions. There is an appeals process I can go through if denied, and then I will hire somebody.

Having just read the entire 30 page plan, here are the educated guesses I draw so far:

- My father worked for the company 40 years. If my parents had stayed married, she would be vested for half of the total. But since they were married only 20 years (50% of his career), she gets 50% of a potential 50% = 25%

So what happens to the benefits accrued during the other 20 years?

- Under normal circumstances with no beneficary on file, they might be forfeited with no payout.
(At least, the Pension Benefits/company portion. From what I understand, any voluntary after-tax contributions are 100% vested and are returned to the beneficiary. The plan says something about in regards to these funds, with no beneficiary on file they go in the order of Surviving Spouse-Children-Siblings-Cousins. I would be first qualified on that list.)

- But with a signed and dated form, that can easily be verified by matching his signatures to others on file over the years, they would pay it out to any other beneficiaries listed. As I said they now conveniently claim to have "lost" this form, but I had backups and sent one in. It is pretty clear what my father's intentions were. And there HAS to be money leftover as my mom is only getting a fraction of what was in there...

Some noteworthy things:
The Designation of Beneficiary form states:
"If you are not married, you may name anyone as your beneficiary."
With this type of pension, children can receive benefits under certain circumstances. I know this is not the case in all pensions. What I do know is IF you are married, your spouse is automatically the beneficiary. But he wasn't.

My parents signed a QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order) which ensured she would be eligible for up to 50% of the survivor benefit, depending on how long they stayed married. This is what's messing me up.

Concern #1 is that even if the leftover amount could technically be claimed, they deny this form.

Concern #2 is this QDRO technically means she was the beneficiary by law. My concern is they will claim there can be only one beneficiary and that she supercedes me. In that sense, we'd be getting screwed by 25% of the total, as she is entitled to 20 years worth of accrued vested benefits. But I would be entitled to the full amount accrued over the 40 years. We would take a loss as a family. In the case of me vs. my mom as the sole beneficiary, it'd make more sense for me to claim the funds and buy her out of her portion when paid. However, if my hunch is right and things go well I do believe I'll be vested for all that was accrued for the entirety of the 20 unmarried years.

THANK YOU to those who're contributing anything they know. You may be contributing to me and my future kids. I'll keep you all posted..