Account Balance Pension Blues

[chucky1]

What is the name of your state? Indiana.

Within the last week I decided to accept a cash-balance pension plan and forgo my traditional pension. Since that time I have come to find out that the amount of money the company showed us as our Opening Acccount Balance is actually about one-third what my pension actually was worth. Do I have any options to get back to my original pension such as a right-of-recision. I have not signed anything yet, as the change was made over the Internet and I am waiting on confirmation through the mail. PLEASE HELP?

 

[Beth3]

Since that time I have come to find out that the amount of money the company showed us as our Opening Acccount Balance is actually about one-third what my pension actually was worth. Was worth when? When you retired X number of years from now, assuming you stayed with your employer until retirement?

Since a pension plan is a defined benefit plan (and thus is a future liability, not a present one unless you are at retirement age), converting it to a cash-value is a calculation that would be subject to approval by the federal DOL, the IRS, and the PBGC before any conversion would be allowed to take place. It's not a number that your employer just picked out of a hat.

The first thing you need to do is to ask your employer for a full explanation of what appears to you to be a discrepancy.