Pension Benefits
The Pension Benefits Unit is the home of the Mid-Atlantic Pension Counseling Project, which was formerly part of Legal Services for the Elderly. The project provides information and counseling to workers and their dependents who are having difficulty finding out about pension benefits that might be owed to them or who believe that they might not be receiving benefits that are owed to them.
We assist callers with pension questions and issues and we advocate on their behalf, as needed, to pension plans. The pension plans that we deal with include
- plans sponsored by private employers
- multi-employer plans which are administered jointly by employer and union trustees
- pension systems that provide benefits to federal, state, and local employees,
- and pension plans for postal and railroad workers, and their families.
Typical issues include
- amount of pension benefits paid
- the eligibility for benefits for the spouses or dependent children of deceased workers, and
- claims for benefits that have been unfairly denied.
Please note that there is no income eligibility requirement at the MAPCP, and that the geographic requirements are different from other legal services at SBLS. We can help you if you or your spouse, your company or your pension plan live or are located in New York or New Jersey.
The Mid-Atlantic Pension Counseling Project can be reached during normal business hours, through our toll-free number (800) 355-7714. Any messages that are left will ordinarily be returned within one business day and at the latest within two business days.
Callers should be sure to speak slowly when giving their name and telephone number. The MAPCP is generously funded by the U.S. Administration on Aging.
We also represent low-income New Yorkers whose benefit problems can only be redressed by litigation in either state or federal court. Law suits presently being handled by our office include cases involving
- denials of applications for benefits by public employees
- terminations of private-employer sponsored long term disability benefits, and
- denial of benefits to surviving spouses of deceased workers who belonged to a multi-employer plan.
This unit is part of the Benefits and Employment Law Unit.
Unit Staff
- Gary Stone - Senior Staff Attorney
- Christopher Dagg - Staff Attorney
- Sherman Jones - Paralegal
SBLS Attorney Helps Out-of-State Woman Receive Pension Benefits
A woman who had formerly lived in New York many years ago before being divorced recently received aid from South Brooklyn Legal Services. Her husband had worked for the state and was entitled to a pension, but they got divorced after moving out-of-state and she was having difficult receiving her share of the pension payments…
...continue reading "SBLS Attorney Helps Out-of-State Woman Receive Pension Benefits" >
* (Pension Benefits) 3 February 10 More Pension Benefits spotlights >
Woman Refunded For Pensions Owed to Deceased Husband
Pension benefits attorney Christopher Dagg represented an elderly woman whose husband received pension benefits from 1993 until his death and helped her receive additional payments he was entitled to.
...continue reading "Woman Refunded For Pensions Owed to Deceased Husband" >
* (Pension Benefits) 29 December 09 More Pension Benefits spotlights >
