Nearly 300 Houston city workers took early retirement — then waited months for pension checks to show up. Here’s what to do if this happens to you

Months have now passed, and some former city employees told ABC13 that although they were told it would take 30 to 60 days to start receiving their money, it hasn’t shown up.

How did this happen?

According to ABC13, the City of Houston made early retirement buyout offers to about 3,000 workers as a cost-saving measure amid a projected budget shortfall. The city told the outlet that about 1,000 employees accepted the package in April [1].

The retirees are members of Houston Municipal Employees Pension System (HMEPS), which is a public sector defined benefit pension plan. HMEPS disperses retirement, disability and survivor benefits for city employees [2].

According to local news outlet KHOU 11 News, HMEPS board chair Sherry Mose said the pension organization normally receives an average of 39 retirements per month, making their current caseload much heavier than usual.

Mose said timing was the reason the nearly 300 workers reported never receiving their checks, and that some had not submitted the correct paperwork. She said they brought on additional staff to work on the issue, and the pensioners would receive payments by the end of September [3].

Understanding defined benefit pension plans

A defined benefit pension plan is funded by contributions from the employer. This type of pension is becoming less common than defined contribution plans, which cost less for employers.

Employees generally have to work a set amount of time, known as a vesting period, to qualify for a defined benefit plan. The plans typically issue set payments to workers upon retirement, until the plan holder dies.

IRS rules stipulate that benefits can’t be decreased retroactively by an employer [4]. But there can be risks to defined-benefit plans — namely, if an employer becomes insolvent and the plan does not have the assets to cover benefits.

There is a federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) that insures these plans — but federal, state, and local government pensions are not covered by PBGC [5].

How well protected are you?

Houstonians’ public outcry and calls to both city officials and the pension fund may have helped get this issue enough attention to spark action.

Per KHOU 11 News, the HMEPS board chair told city council her office received more than 13,000 calls about the issue. Council members said constituents questioned them in public about the problem.

HMEPS said the retired Houston workers were not being paid because of processing issues. But what if your defined benefit plan is not making payments because your employer can’t afford it?

Advocating for your rights as a pensioner

State laws vary when it comes to employees’ rights if a state, local or municipal government pension is not adequately funded to make promised payments to the plan’s participants.

Some states have laws that explicitly say that making pension payments is a contractual obligation for state and local plans. Other states lack such protections, but do have case law that could be used to argue for pensioners’ rights. And at the other end of the spectrum, in some states, workers do not have contractual rights when it comes to pensions.

The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems has published a breakdown of the protections for public sector pension plans in each state [6].

If you are having other issues getting paid by your pension plan, there are resources to help.

The U.S. Administration for Community Living’s Pension Counseling and Information Program is available in 31 states. It can help with administrative appeals, location of pension plans that have been “lost” in the event of company merger or closure, complex pension questions, and referrals to other professionals who can help [7].

If you’re not in a state covered by this program, you can seek help from the Pension Rights Center, a consumer watchdog group that maintains a website offering resources, information and referral for common pension issues [8].

Article sources

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[1]. ABC13. “'Give me my money:' City of Houston retirees demand their pension payouts months after city deal”

[2]. HMEPS. “Who we are and what we are about”