Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is an example of a federal program that is holding unclaimed funds.

The PBGS is currently holding about $200 million for over 36,000 people.

Many times people have pensions with companies and, for whatever reason, forget they have it or do not claim it.

The PBGC helps locate people owed pension money and help them get it back.

They do this with the Missing Participant Program.  This locates people owed benefits from fully funded, PBGC insured defined benefit plans that have ended.


Why Does This Happen?

When employers choose to end a pension plan, they must distribute all plan benefits to workers and retirees before completely ending the plan.

If someone is owed a pension and they cannot be located, the plan administrator sends the funds to the PBGC to distribute when they locate the owner.

The program to locate the owner applies to pensions whose money is distributed after January 1, 1996.

The PBGC developed the Internet Missing Participant List that lists names and last-known addresses, companies where missing people earned their pensions, and the dates their pension plans ended.

This list is updated regularly and allows members of the public to see for themselves whether they or somebody they know is a missing participant.

You should check with your plan administrator, if possible, to check the status of your pension plan if your search comes up empty.

You can also review Finding A Lost Pension to give you extra tips on finding a pension you believe to be missing.