Money owed to Hundreds of Hawaii residents "may already have won" large sums of money due them in pension benefits from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., a federal agency.
‘missing’ workers
Hawaii residents are part
of a national class action suitBy Erika Engle
eengle@starbulletin.comThe Hawaii residents are among as many as 300,000 Americans entitled to previously unpaid benefits from some 12,000 now-defunct pension plans as a result of the 1996 settlement of a class-action lawsuit against PBGC.
Washington, D.C.-based attorney Stephen Bruce was the plaintiffs' attorney in the suit originally filed against the PBGC in 1988, "on behalf of some women in a town outside Boston and people in Detroit Michigan." The case later gained class action status.
According to a public relations company hired to publicize the search for beneficiaries, thousands of workers identified thus far who worked for the companies in question for 10 years or more have received payments averaging between $10,000 and $12,000.
Bruce said those with between five and 10 years' service have received smaller payments.
In Hawaii, those eligible include certain employees or former employees of 11 or more companies from restaurants to bakeries to service stations and others. The employers involved, in various states of activity according to the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism's business registration records, include The Hawaii Corp., Hatada Bakery Inc. of Hilo and The Jolly Roger Hawaii Inc., which engaged in restaurant business under several names including Jolly Roger, Yum Yum Tree, Monterey Bay Canners and Sizzler (see box).
Bruce said employees or their survivors who believe they may be eligible should fill out a short claim form, a free process. There is a $20 fee to appeal the eligibility finding, he said, but otherwise there is no expense to a claimant. Forms can be obtained by a toll free call to (800) 316-8857 or (866) 731-1510 or by mail addressed to the Page/Collins Class Action Settlement Director at P.O. Box 419, Dallas Tex. 75221. Information is also available via the settlement office's Web site at www.lostpension.net.
The core of the case and its settlement is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. The act shortened vesting standards required for employee pension plans. According to a PBGC news release dated March 1996, found at www.pbgc.gov, the Page/Collins v. PBGC suit was filed, "on behalf of workers whose pension plans were not amended to comply with shorter vesting standards required with the passage (of ERISA)."
Bruce said the courts found that PBGC improperly underpaid beneficiaries, hence the payouts ordered in the settlement.
The PBGC Web site contains a wealth of information on other, similar nationwide searches for beneficiaries of unpaid benefits.
Employees who worked at the following 11 businesses for a minimum of five years, and whose pension plans were terminated between 1976 and 1981, may be entitled to benefits by the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. Lost pensions
Company Location Hatada Bakery Inc. Hilo The Hawaii Corp. Honolulu Hawaii Daiichi-Kanko Inc. Honolulu The Jolly Roger Hawaii Inc. Honolulu K&E Graphic Inc. Honolulu M’s Print Shop Inc. Honolulu Moreira Inc. Honolulu Pacific Construction Co. Honolulu Roberts Bakery Inc. Hilo Vista Pacific Inc. Honolulu Waipahu Shell Service Inc. Waipahu Workers who think they may be affected can call (800) 316-8857 or (866) 731-1510, or see the Web site at www.lostpension.net for claim details.
Source: www.lostpension.net