Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether certain private-sector pension plans are improperly demanding that retirees pay back pension benefits the plan itself mistakenly overpaid, sometimes years after the payments began.
Pension calculations can be complicated, and retirees ordinarily rely on the plan administrator to determine the amount they are entitled to receive. In some cases, however, a pension plan later claims that its own calculation was wrong and that the retiree has been receiving too much money. The plan may then reduce future pension payments, demand a lump-sum repayment, or attempt to recover years of alleged overpayments.
Federal law now places significant restrictions on how certain retirement plans may recover inadvertent benefit overpayments. We are investigating whether pension plans and their administrators are pursuing retirees in ways that may violate those protections.
You May Be Affected If:
- You receive a pension from a former private-sector employer;
- Your pension plan later told you that it had calculated your benefit incorrectly;
- You did not provide false information or otherwise cause the alleged error;
- You received the pension amount for months or years before the plan discovered the mistake;
- The plan demanded that you repay past benefits;
- Your monthly pension was reduced to recover an alleged overpayment;
- You received a letter demanding a substantial lump-sum payment;
- The plan is attempting to collect alleged overpayments dating back many years; or
- You relied on the pension amount when making retirement or financial decisions.
Why This Matters
A retiree may have no reason to suspect that the monthly benefit calculated and paid by the pension plan is incorrect.
Years later, a repayment demand can create serious financial consequences—particularly for retirees living on fixed incomes who already spent the money on ordinary living expenses.
Federal protections may limit recovery of certain inadvertent pension overpayments. Whether a particular repayment demand is permissible can depend on circumstances such as when the plan discovered the error, how far back it seeks repayment, whether the retiree caused the error through fraud or misrepresentation, and the method the plan uses to recover the money.
Does This Apply to Your Pension?
This investigation generally concerns pension plans provided by private-sector employers and governed by ERISA.
Government pensions and certain church plans generally are not governed by ERISA.
If you are unsure whether your pension qualifies, we can review your pension statements, Summary Plan Description, former employer information, and the letter demanding repayment.
We Are Interested in Hearing From Retirees Who:
- were told their pension had been miscalculated;
- received a demand to repay pension benefits;
- were asked to repay benefits received years earlier;
- had future monthly benefits reduced to recover an alleged overpayment;
- were threatened with collection activity;
- did not cause the original calculation error;
- relied on the original pension amount in deciding when to retire or making other financial decisions; or
- have repayment letters, pension statements, benefit calculations, or other plan correspondence.
If your former employer or pension plan says it mistakenly overpaid your pension and is now demanding the money back, we would like to hear from you. Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or call us at (202) 470-3520.