Comstock's magazine 1119 - November 2019 | Page 63

A pensioner’s
fate depends on
where they worked.
Those in private company
plans will more likely
fare best. Not only are
those plans better
funded, but the Pension
Benefit Guaranty
Corporation program
that insures those
pensions are adequately
funded: With a few
exceptions, the PBGC
guarantees up to about
$65,000 a year.
ever, not just for seven years as you would for taxes, especial-
ly the record that every employee gets on leaving a company
showing what they’re owed. If you’re owed a pension and
aren’t getting what you think you should, start by getting
your detailed earnings report from the Social Security Ad-
ministration, which shows every place you’ve worked and
what’s due to you; she says it’s a great starting point for work-
ing out problems with a pension administrator. And if you’re
stonewalled, get help. Her project recovers a total of about $2
million a year for clients, she says.
Today’s pension uncertainty might spur workers to do the
one thing many of us have control over: Put money away. “If
there’s action for us to take as individuals, it’s to increase our
personal savings,” says Petersen.
That’s what Martineau says she’s done; she moved to
Maine, where her cost of living is cheaper. She no lon-
ger believes in financial guarantees, including promised
pensions. She says, “The Great Recession has forever
changed my view of money in a way the Depression prob-
ably changed my parents’ view of money. Now I don’t be-
lieve there are any financial guarantees, and our govern-
ment cannot protect us against bank failures, insurance
bankruptcies, etc.” n
Steven Yoder writes about business, real estate and criminal
justice. His work has appeared in The Fiscal Times, Salon, The
American Prospect and elsewhere. On Twitter @syodertweet
and at www.stevenyoder.net.
November 2019 | comstocksmag.com
63