Kokua Line
Kokua Line
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problems with your 401(k)Question: Do you know what regulatory agency oversees 401(k) plans? I recently noticed that there was a large discrepancy in my direct rollover from a former employer's plan into a bank's IRA. The company no longer exists, but I was able to contact the person who managed the plan for the company. I've requested that he check my distribution checks, and I wanted to know why I did not receive the full amount of what I was supposed to get. This person told me he would pull out the files to see if an error was made. I've waited over two weeks and last week he said I'd have it by yesterday. I still don't have the information. Who can I write to complain about this? I'm feeling very frustrated and I want to resolve this right away as a lot of time has already passed since the distribution was made.
Answer: Contact the U.S. Department of Labor.
That's the advice from Rick Meigs, founder and president of 401kHelpCenter.Com, LLC, a public Web site (www.401khelpcenter.com/) that describes itself as "a vertical portal, publishing and consolidating 401(k) information from across the Web." Based in Portland, Ore., the company says it "is a leading provider of information, opinion, analysis, trends, news, regulatory changes, and other resources for 401(k) plan sponsors, small businesses, and plan participants."
Meigs said you should first contact the nearest regional office of the Labor Department's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration. That would be either the Los Angeles Regional Office, 1055 East Colorado Blvd. Suite 200, Pasadena, CA 91106-2341 (telephone 626-229-1000/Fax 626-229-1098), or the San Francisco Regional Office, 71 Stevenson St. Suite 915, San Francisco, CA 94105 (telephone 415-975-4600/Fax 415-975-4589).
You can also call the Department of Labor's Office of Participant Assistance and Communications at 1-866-275-7922 or e-mail them by completing the form at the following link:
askpwba.dol.gov/contact_form_2.asp?Office=88.
More on Scooters
Regarding the Feb. 24 column about motorized scooters, people should note there are several types of scooters being used and not all are noisy or fast. Complaints about loud noises are about gas scooter engines, some with "hop-up" pipes. These should not be confused with the electric-powered two-, three- or four-wheel units for use by passengers, including the physically challenged or elderly. The Americans with Disabilities Act has been very successful in the effort to have our tax dollars reconstruct city sidewalks so those kinds of electric scooters and wheelchairs can have equal access. -- Wally Parcels
Auwe
To the man who picks up the recycling bin at Aliiolani School. You always come to pick up the recycling bin when school lets out so of course the street and parking lot are full. Yet you come into the parking lot tooting your horn expecting people who come early to wait for their kids to move their cars. Recently, you asked an elderly lady to move her car so that you could get the bin out, yet she barely had room to negotiate since you parked right behind her. There is no posted times for you to pick up the bin, and though you are doing your job many of us are on break from ours or are going to work, and need to get in and out as quickly as possible and not be blocked in by you. Since we can't change the time the children get out, maybe you should change the time you pick up the bin. -- No Name
(Collections at the city's Community Recycling Bins are handled by a private contractor, Honolulu Disposal Service. Although general pickup hours are 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., the contractor "is not to service the bin at the beginning of school and when school lets out," said Steve Kelsey, contract manager for the city's recycling office. He said he would make sure the service schedule is "adjusted accordingly" at Aliiolani and would pass on your complaint to the contractor. Call the recycling office at 527-5335 if you have any questions or complaints about the recycling bins.)
Mahalo
On Wednesday, Feb. 20, I boarded the bus at the bus stop near Longs Drugs downtown, forgetting my purse on the bench. I would like to thank the nice Filipino man who picked up my purse and took it to the Chinatown police station. He was my guardian angel. May he have everlasting blessings. Many thanks also to the police who delivered the purse to me personally. -- S. Gouveia
Mahalo
To Chris West and Scott Sheldon who helped "Bobby" in the early morning hours of Feb. 23, when he nearly hit them on 10th Avenue because of his unsteady driving. Instead of avoiding a supposedly drunk driver, Chris and Scott stopped to see what the problem was. They recognized that he was ill and not drunk. They went above and beyond duty when they drove "Bobby" home to ensure that he did not hurt himself or anyone else on the road. My family would like to extend the warmest aloha and appreciation to these two outstanding individuals. -- I. Nakamura
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com