18 Jul My ex died and his company was sold. How do I get his pension?

Q. My ex-husband died and the QDRO states that upon death, I was to receive his pension but the company was bought out. How do I find out what his pensions were?
— Ex-spouse

A. We’re sorry to hear about your ex.

This can be a tough one.

The good news is that you have a copy of the QDRO, which is a good starting point, said Carolyn Daly, a matrimonial law attorney with Cohen Seglias in Newark.

She said first, you need to be sure that the QDRO you have was filed with the court and sent to and approved by the plan administrator.

“If it wasn’t, then the plan administrator doesn’t even know about the order and what was to occur,” she said. “If it was reviewed and approved (qualified) then you should have gotten a letter from the plan administrator stating the QDRO, which is what the order is before the plan administrator accepts it, was qualified.”

If you did not, then you need to contact the plan administrator of the pension plan to see if they have it on file or what they need to pay you what you were supposed to receive, she said.

The QDRO should have the name of the plan and the plan administrator in it, Daly said.

If it has either, you may be able to find the plan administrator and contact information online.

If there is an address for the plan administrator in the QDRO and no phone number, then you can write a letter to the plan administrator and send it certified mail with a copy of the QDRO asking for information, she said.

Be sure to provide your phone number and email address along with your mailing address.

“If you don’t see the name and address for the plan administrator in the QDRO, then if you know who he was employed by at the time, you can try to call the company to get the name, address and phone number for the plan administrator,” she said. “Sometimes, you can Google the name of the plan and you might get the contact information.”

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This story was originally published on July 18, 2023.

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