EPISODE 8~ FIND YOURS: How To Find And Claim A Lost Pension

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I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW TO FIND LOST PENSION MONEY.

THE PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION IS THE FIRST PLACE TO LOOK. THE PBGC IS AN INDEPENDENT AGENCY CREATED BY THE US GOVERNMENT TO INSURE PENSIONS AND PAY THEM IF THE COMPANIES BEHIND THEM FAIL. THE PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION HAS A SEARCHABLE DATABASE OF 38,000 PEOPLE WHO ARE OWED $300 MILLION DOLLARS IN PENSIONS. THE AGENCY SAYS IT OWES INDIVIDUALS AMOUNTS RANGING FROM 12 CENTS TO A MILLION DOLLARS. I WILL LINK YOU TO THE PBGC SEARCH PAGE FROM EASYMONEYSHOW.COM/08.

A COUPLE OF IMPORTANT NOTES: THE PBGC IS ONLY INVOLVED IN OLD FASHIONED PENSIONS, NOT 401KS OR PROFIT SHARING PLANS. AND IT ONLY COVERS THOSE EARNED AT PRIVATE COMPANIES. THE FIRST STEP, WHEN YOU GO TO THE AGENCY’S WEBSITE IS TO LOOK AT THE LIST OF COMPANY PENSION PLANS THE PBGC HAS TAKEN OVER AND SEE IF YOURS IS AMONG THEM. THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF DEFUNCT COMPANIES ON THE LIST, FROM CIRCUIT CITY, THE ELECTRONIC STORE CHAIN… TO LEHMAN BROTHERS, THE BIG FINANCIAL FIRM THAT TOPPLED DURING THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS.

NEXT YOU SHOULD SEARCH YOUR OWN NAME ON THE PBGC SITE. OR IF YOU ARE THE BENEFICIARY OF SOMEONE LIKELY TO HAVE A LOST PENSION, SEARCH THEIR NAME. YOU DO THIS ON THE MAIN SEARCH PAGE UNDER “UNCLAIMED PENSIONS” AND, ONCE AGAIN, I WILL LINK YOU TO THE RIGHT SPOT. IF YOU FIND YOUR NAME, YOU CAN CLICK ON IT AND FILL OUT A FORM TO BEGIN THE CLAIM PROCESS. YOU COULD BE RECEIVING CHECKS IN AS LITTLE AS TWO MONTHS.

IF YOU DON’T FIND YOUR MISSING PENSION, BUT FEEL SURE YOU HAVE ONE, THE PBGC HAS AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE ABOUT HOW TO DO THE DETECTIVE WORK OF AN ADVANCED SEARCH AND I WILL ALSO LINK YOU TO THAT FROM EASYMONEYSHOW.COM/08.

I LOOKED IT UP AND IF YOUR PENSION WAS INSURED BY THE PBGC, YOU ARE GUARANTEED A PENSION OF BETWEEN 16-THOUSAND AND NEARLY 200- THOUSAND DOLLARS, DEPENDING WHAT AGE YOU WERE WHEN YOU LEFT THE COMPANY. SO IF YOU WERE EVER IN A PENSION PROGRAM AT ONE OF YOUR JOBS, THIS IS WORTH LOOKING INTO!

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EPISODE 7~ FIND YOURS: Check Different Versions of Your Name To Make Sure You Find Your UNCLAIMED Money

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AND NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT OUR ‘FIND YOURS’ TOPIC FOR TODAY: NAMELY, HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU’VE FOUND ALL OF YOUR UNCLAIMED MONEY BY CHECKING EVERY POSSIBLE VERSION OF YOUR NAME. WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT? THE SIMPLEST EXAMPLE IS MARRIED WOMEN WHO HAVE TAKEN THEIR HUSBAND’S NAME. THEY SHOULD ALWAYS SEARCH FOR UNCLAIMED MONEY UNDER THEIR MAIDEN NAME AND THEIR MARRIED NAME.

BUT THERE ARE ALSO LESS OBVIOUS NAME VARIATIONS TO SEARCH AS WELL. HERE’S A LIST OF THINGS TO TRY WHEN USING THE WEBSITES MISSINGMONEY.COM AND UNCLAIMED.ORG (NOTE, THAT’S .ORG) TO SEARCH FOR UNCLAIMED MONEY:

NUMBER 1: SEARCH YOUR NAME BACKWARDS BECAUSE THE BUREAUCRATS WHO ENTERED IT COULD HAVE FLIPPED IT. SO, I WOULD SEARCH UNDER ELISABETH LEAMY, BUT ALSO UNDER LEAMY, ELISABETH.

NUMBER 2: SEARCH JUST YOUR LAST NAME AND DON’T PUT ANYTHING IN THE FIRST NAME FIELD. SOMETIMES FIRST NAMES GET LEFT OFF OF RECORDS. YOU’LL VERIFY IT’S YOU IF YOU’VE LIVED AT THE ADDRESS LISTED.

NUMBER 3: PUT JUST YOUR FIRST NAME IN THE LAST NAME FIELD AND SEE IF ANY OF THE LISTINGS MATCH AN ADDRESS WHERE YOU HAVE LIVED.

4, PUT YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME IN THE LAST NAME FIELD. IT MAKES SENSE TO TRY THIS WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE GLITCHES THAT HAPPEN WHEN COMPUTERS MERGE SPREADSHEETS.

5TH, SEARCH COMMON MISSPELLINGS OF YOUR NAME. PEOPLE OFTEN THINK MY LAST NAME IS LEAHY INSTEAD OF LEAMY, FOR EXAMPLE.

6TH, SEARCH VARIATIONS ON YOUR NAME. LIKE IF YOUR NAME IS KATHERINE, YOU’LL WANT TO SEARCH KATHERINE WITH A K, CATHERINE WITH A C AND KATHRYN WITH A Y NEAR THE END. I’D THROW IN KATHLEEN TOO.

NUMBER 7: SEARCH FORMAL AND INFORMAL VERSIONS OF YOUR NAME, LIKE ELISABETH, LIZ, LIZZY AND BETH.

8. TRY DIFFERENT NAME PUNCTUATION: FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOUR NAME HAS AN APOSTROPHE IN IT, LIKE THE NAME O’NEILL, TRY ENTERING THE NAME WITH AND WITHOUT THE APOSTROPHE. AND IF YOUR NAME HAS A PREFIX LIKE MACARTHUR, TRY THAT ALL AS ONE WORD AND WITH A SPACE BETWEEN MAC AND ARTHUR.

9: PUT THE NAME OF BANKS AND BROKERAGE FIRMS WHERE YOU HAVE DONE BUSINESS IN THE LAST NAME SLOT BECAUSE SOMETIMES UNCLAIMED INVESTMENT OR RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS ARE LISTED UNDER THE BANK OR BROKERAGE INSTEAD OF UNDER YOUR NAME. YOUR NAME MAY HAVE GOTTEN BUMPED DOWN TO THE ADDRESS FIELD IN THIS CASE.

AND 10TH AND FINAL TIP: PUT THE NAME OF COMPANIES WHERE YOU HAVE WORKED IN THE LAST NAME FIELD AND, AGAIN, LOOK FOR YOUR NAME IN THE ADDRESS FIELD. THIS CAN HAPPEN WITH MISPLACED 401K AND HEALTH INSURANCE MONEY.

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EPISODE 06~ FIND YOURS: Why You Should Search Cities and Counties for Unclaimed Money

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HEADS UP, PEOPLE! YOUR CITY MAY HAVE UNCLAIMED MONEY FOR YOU! UP UNTIL NOW, I’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT STATE UNCLAIMED MONEY FUNDS AND HOW TO FIND THOSE, BUT IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO OVERLOOK CITIES AND THE MONEY THEY SOMETIMES HOLD FOR THEIR CITIZENS. LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS AT GOOD MORNING AMERICA, THE CITY OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA WAS HOLDING A BUNCH OF UNCLAIMED MONEY FOR PEOPLE. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE CITY HAD MORE THAN A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE FROM CITY CHECKS THAT WERE NEVER CASHED. THE BAD NEWS IS THAT PASADENA HAD DECIDED THAT IF PEOPLE DIDN’T CLAIM THE MONEY BY A CERTAIN DATE, THE CITY WAS GOING TO KEEP IT! SO MY PRODUCER AND I RUSHED TO CALIFORNIA TO TRY TO GET THE WORD OUT.

WE VISITED THE ADDRESSES ON THE CITY’S LIST AND FOUND THAT MANY PEOPLE HAD MOVED, WHICH IS WHY THEY HAD NEVER GOTTEN THEIR CITY CHECKS. OTHER PEOPLE DIDN’T BELIEVE US WHEN WE FOUND THEM AND SHARED THE GOOD NEWS. STORY OF MY LIFE WITH UNCLAIMED MONEY.

PEOPLE THINK IT’S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! WE LEARNED HOW LITTLE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO TO REUNITE PEOPLE WITH THEIR UNCLAIMED MONEY. IN THIS CASE, ONE OF THE RECIPIENTS OWED UNCLAIMED MONEY WAS THE PASADENA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, A FELLOW GOVERNMENT ENTITY THAT’S ONLY 16 BLOCKS FROM CITY HALL! BUT THE CITY HAD DONE NOTHING TO TELL THEM.

WE OURSELVES ALERTED PEOPLE TO MORE THAN 14-THOUSAND DOLLARS WAITING TO BE CLAIMED. THE OWNER OF A COMIC BOOK STORE HAD $270 DOLLARS COMING. THAT MAY NOT SOUND LIKE MUCH, BUT THINK HOW MANY COMIC BOOKS HE’D HAVE TO SELL TO MAKE THAT! WE FOUND A COUPLE WHO WERE OWED $1,750 DOLLARS IN REBATES FROM A RENTAL PROPERTY THEY OWNED. AND WE TRACKED DOWN A CONTRACTOR WHO PROBABLY OVERPAID FOR PERMITS AND WAS DUE MORE THAN 3-THOUSAND 3-HUNDRED DOLLARS! OFTEN CITIES TURN THEIR OWN UNCLAIMED MONEY ACCOUNTS OVER TO THEIR STATES FOR SAFEKEEPING. BUT, AS THE PASADENA EXAMPLE SHOWS, THAT IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE AND THERE IS REAL MONEY OUT THERE BEING HELD BY CITIES.

I THINK EVERYBODY SHOULD CHECK EVERY CITY THEY’VE EVER LIVED IN. BUT THERE’S EVEN MORE INCENTIVE TO CHECK IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN A CITY EMPLOYEE OR IF YOU HAVE EVER DONE BUSINESS WITH A CITY —LIKE THAT CONTRACTOR— OR BEEN SUBJECT TO A LOT OF TAX IN A CITY —LIKE THOSE LANDLORDS. THANKS TO THE INTERNET, IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE TO SEARCH. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE’S NOT A CENTRALIZED DATABASE OF CITY UNCLAIMED MONEY, SO I SUGGEST SEARCHING THE NAME OF THE CITY OR COUNTY AND THE WORDS “UNCLAIMED MONEY” OR “UNCLAIMED PROPERTY” OR “UNCASHED CHECKS.” GOOD LUCK!

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