The recession not only cost many people their jobs, it also put a lot of companies out of business. But what happens to employees retirement plans when their firm goes bankrupt? Local 12 Troubleshooter Howard Ain says one local man has been trying to get access to his money for months.
Doug Angel of Independence was a long-time employee of an Elsemere Construction firm that went bankrupt in the recession. When he saw the end coming, he looked for another job. "I had been there 23 years but I did finally find another job. I went ahead and left. I checked with Vanguard. Piercefield Corporation is not one of those to go ahead and release your funds. They have like a year before they have to and usually they're known for doing that."
Angel's 401K retirement plan is with Vanguard Investments and it told him his money was safe there. He had been putting money into his 401K retirement account for years. The money was taken right out of his paychecks. But he couldn't take out the money when he needed it because Vanguard told him it couldn't find anyone in control from Piercefield Corporation. "They tried to get a hold of the authorized signer and they couldn't get a hold of anybody.I can move it around inside the plan but I'm not allowed to pull it out of the plan. I'm not allowed to do anything with that."
Angel says he started complaining about this to Vanguard Investments last August-- but says, despite repeated calls, nothing has happened."Nobody's authorized to say I can have my money then whose to say I can't. Its my philosophy towards the whole thing you know what I mean. And I'm not the only one. I know another guy at least, his money is still in there."
So Howard contacted the U.S. Labor Department Pension and Welfare Section. Officials tell him under the law, the bankruptcy trustee should administer the retirement plan. This stems from a revision in the bankruptcy code that occurred about five years ago.They also say bankruptcy trustees are not used to this and that has created a real problem not only for Angel but for many others whose firms have gone bankrupt.
Federal Labor Department officials have now contacted Angel for additional information and they tell Ain they will now contact the court to get the retirement money released.
