Many Pension Action Center clients planned for retirement based on pensions they or their spouses earned over the past decades. As they prepare to retire, they are prevented from starting their benefits when they need them, if they can obtain them at all. The employer may have gone bankrupt, merged, or lost all records of the individual pension. They may encounter challenges related to division of benefits at divorce, or have trouble getting the spousal survivor benefits guaranteed to them under federal law. Due to the way that our pension system works, the burden falls on individual retirees to justify their entitlement to these earned benefits. Without help, they may never recover their lost income.

The Pension Action Center is the only source of free pension legal assistance in our service area. Legal aid attorneys generally cannot help, due to the specialized expertise involved. The money involved can be very significant for low- and moderate-income retirees. However, because pensions generally are paid as monthly annuities, the installments are insufficient to cover attorney fees.

The Pension Action Center ("PAC") is seeking a volunteer attorney to serve as our Illinois-based pension counselor. PAC volunteer counselors work directly with retirees to help them find and claim the pension money they earned. Counselors research pension plan histories; negotiate with pension plans; and, when necessary, write claims and appeals to pursue benefits through the ERISA administrative process. Typically, counselors work 5 to 10 hours a week for a term of six months or longer, and maintain a small docket of pension cases.