OpportunityTitle: Pension Resource Center
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Eligible applicants include domestic public or private and non-profit entities including state, local and Indian tribal governments, faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, and institutions of higher education, with a proven record of advising and representing individuals who have been denied employer or union-sponsored pensions or other retirement savings plan benefits, and which have the capacity to deliver services on a regional basis
Description: Project Relevance &amp; Current Need. The need for trustworthy pension information and assistance has never been greater. The complexities inherent in our nation&#146;s retirement system make it inaccessible, for all practical purposes, to the vast majority of its participants and beneficiaries. The system is vast with private employers sponsoring more than 700,000 retirement plans in the United States, each with its own set of complicated rules. Federal, State, and local government employers bring thousands more plans into the mix. Each of these private and public plans represents a multifaceted interaction of federal and state labor and tax laws. Systemic issues such as pension plan underfunding, terminations, and freezes are affecting millions of workers and retirees each year. And thousands more are unable to locate their retirement benefits because their former employer has changed its name, merged with another, relocated or gone out of business altogether. Even where the plan sponsor is readily identifiable, thousands of workers apply for their pensions each year only to learn that their benefits have been miscalculated, or denied altogether. Questions concerning the impact of death and divorce on retirement benefits often add a further level of confusion for participants and family members. Additionally, during difficult economic times, layoffs and plant closures can lead to a wide variety of benefits issues that are particularly troublesome for workers and their families. Accurate information from a trustworthy source is essential in helping these individuals better understand how considerations of immediate financial need impact their long-term financial security. Furthermore, when early access to benefits is necessitated by job loss or other life change events, it is critical that services are available to ensure such benefits are accurately calculated and timely paid. Finding competent assistance, even for the simplest of pension questions, can be a daunting challenge. Contributing significantly to the difficulty is the fact that no single government agency is charged with assisting individuals who have difficulty navigating these pension systems to locate or claim their benefits. Where government assistance is available, it generally will not verify benefit calculations, interpret complex plan language, or conduct the labor-intensive investigations necessary to rebuild lengthy work histories in order to prove pension eligibility. Trying to find a lawyer can also be both difficult and discouraging. This is not only due to the highly specialized and complex nature of this area of practice, but also because those who are most dependent on the income from these plans &#150; low and moderate wage earners &#150; often have cases of only modest value that may not attract the interest of the private bar. Indeed, income from employer-sponsored pensions and retirement savings plans is increasingly crucial for the retirement security of most Americans. And for the most vulnerable of older Americans &#150; disadvantaged seniors &#150; finding a trustworthy place to turn to for personalized, hands-on help in obtaining the benefits they have earned can make the difference between destitution or institutionalization, and living one&#146;s retirement years with independence and dignity. Technical assistance and related support is as critical to the work of the counseling projects as pension counseling is to the clients served. While the field of employee benefits is a well-established area of legal practice, the work of the counseling projects is unique -- operating exclusively within a retirement system&#146;s administrative claims and appeals procedures. Focused training and technical assistance services must be provided that are specifically targeted towards this specialized practice that requires expert legal knowledge in addition to a keen understanding of informal discovery and investigative skills; all with an eye toward achieving a positive outcome for the client pre-litigation. Connecting the projects through a variety of shared learning methods is also critical to the work of the projects, allowing them to learn from each other, sharing their respective legal products, success stories and best practices. It is also vital that the projects maintain a steady income of appropriate clients to serve. Currently, in areas not covered by the counseling projects, about one of every four individuals requesting services can be served by a project because of the Program&#146;s expanded concept of regional jurisdiction. Therefore it is necessary that the projects maintain a nationwide presence for the purpose of outreach, information, and referral. The technical resource and assistance center responds to each of these needs. B. Program History. Recognizing this tremendous need, Congress directed the AoA to develop demonstration projects specifically designed to help individuals understand and exercise their pension rights. Beginning in 1993, the AoA has funded the Pension Counseling and Information Program, founded upon two service hallmarks: trustworthy and personalized assistance regardless of age, income or value of the pension claim; and broad-based expertise covering all employer-sponsored pension and retirement plans, regardless of sponsor type (public, private) or plan type (defined benefit, defined contribution). The program is also supported by a single national Technical Resource and Assistance Center that provides the counseling projects with substantive legal training, case consultation and operational coordination and support. The center is also charged with providing nationwide outreach, information, and referral services. AoA has expanded the Regional Counseling Program to its current level, covering 27 states through a network of regional pension counseling projects and a single national technical assistance project. The technical assistance center&#146;s work has also been expanded to cover the nation with outreach, information, and referral services that take in State and Area Agencies on Aging, senior legal services providers, and other agencies and professional organizations willing to provide some level of pension assistance. The Program has been overwhelmingly successful across a variety of measures, the most impressive of which is that it has recovered nearly $100 million in benefits for the tens of thousands of clients it has served. This represents a direct return to clients served of more than $5.50 for every federal funding dollar invested. Even when benefits are not warranted, the information and assistance that the projects provide offer vulnerable elderly individuals the satisfaction of finally achieving &#147;peace of mind&#148; after months or even years of frustration in searching for answers. The projects also have an extensive outreach network that helps to keep individuals aware of their pension rights and of the fact that the counseling projects exist, should they encounter a problem. Based on this success, the Counseling Program was made a permanent program in 2000, under Title II of the Older Americans Act, as amended. C. Program Purpose. The Pension Counseling and Information Program&#146;s effort to protect financial security in retirement directly supports the Administration on Aging&#146;s interests in promoting increased choice and greater independence among older adults. The activities of the Program serve to enhance the financial, emotional, physical, and mental well-being of older adults, and thereby increase their capacity for independent choice with regard to health care and medication, nutrition, and living conditions, as well as planning for long-term care. These decisions, in turn, support older individuals&#146; efforts to maintain security and independence in retirement, to make better financial and other choices in their later years, and to remain in their own homes with high quality of life for as long as possible. Advocacy programs such as the Pension Counseling and Information Program also help to ensure that older adults are able to exercise increased choice and independence in an environment that is free from abuse, neglect and exploitation. The Program significantly contributes to the overall mission of AoA in the following ways: &#149; Monetary recoveries help individuals achieve and maintain financial security, which in turn allows them to remain in their homes and increases their independence and decision making; &#149; Outreach information directly increases access to consumers on issues related to elder rights, consumer protection and economic security in retirement; thereby empowering seniors to make informed decisions with respect to pensions and other employer-sponsored retirement savings plans; &#149; Direct information and advocacy services efficiently fill an important gap across a broad spectrum of need, since no single government agency has the formal responsibility to look out for and assist retirement plan participants; &#149; Program capacity is maximized through partnerships with community-based organizations and the aging network, and through linkages with AoA&#146;s Eldercare Locator, Aging and Disability Resource Centers, and legal services programs; &#149; Measurable outcomes are defined and encouraged by employing sophisticated data collection and evaluation measures in consultation with the AoA Office of Evaluation. D. Program Approach: Project Goal, Objectives and Activities. Applicants must submit a project plan, the primary goal of which is to establish or continue a national technical resource and assistance center in support of the AoA Pension Counseling &amp; Information Projects and other appropriate providers of pension assistance. Applications must demonstrate the sponsoring organization&#146;s ability to accomplish a set of goals and activities that includes, but is not limited to the following: Note on Exclusive Subject Matter: For purposes of this grant program, &#147;pensions&#148; or &#147;pensions and retirement savings plans&#148; include defined benefit pensions and defined contribution pension and profit sharing plans that provide retirement income, and that are sponsored by government (federal &#150; civil service, military, and railroad &#150; and state, county and local) and private (including religious) employers. 1. Training &amp; Technical Assistance: Quality legal training, education, and technical assistance are essential to the delivery of effective pension counseling services. The applicant should propose a strategy for meeting the training and technical assistance needs of the pension counseling projects, as well as other legal and aging service providers in areas of the country not served by a counseling project. Efforts should draw upon the latest statutory, regulatory, and case law developments. a. Design, Delivery and Coordination of Substantive Legal Training: Successful applicants will be responsible for delivering specific national and on-site training events, and for developing the curriculum in support of those events. The national technical assistance resource center is primarily responsible for training that covers those U.S. pension systems governed by federal pension and tax laws. Additionally, the center will work with counseling project staff and local subject-matter experts to identify and coordinate legal training and other skills-building opportunities covering pension systems sponsored by state, county, and local government entities. The center should also identify other professional providers of pension-specific legal education and coordinate with the counseling project staff to attend, as identified need requires. The proposal should describe the methodology, materials and curricula that will be utilized, as well as any follow-up activities to assist those who have been trained. Adequate staff time, travel, and other resources must be allocated to ensure delivery of the following: i. National Pension Counseling Training Conference: The center will design, coordinate and host one national training event in each project year to be attended by staff from each of the counseling projects, as well as other legal and aging services advocates. ii. Basics Training for All New Project Staff. The center will design and deliver up to two 2-day &#147;Pension Basics&#148; events that all new project case-working staff are required to attend. All center and project expenses related to this training are the responsibility of the center. The frequency and location of these events are based on project need. iii. Supplemental Training: The counseling projects are responsible for completing an annual pension training needs assessment for their case-working staff. In response, the center will work with counseling project staff, subject matter experts, and other professional providers of pension-specific legal education to meet the identified training needs. The following training schedule is recommended for case-working project staff: &#149; Staff with 5 or fewer years of full time pension casework experience, should personally attend 2 pension law training events (or 24 hours of instruction) per year; &#149; Staff with more than 5 years of full time pension casework experience, should personally attend 1 pension law training event (or 12 hours of instruction) per year; and &#149; Interns, volunteers, stipend and other non-traditional staff, a minimum of 2 days (12 hours) of on-site, in-service or other pension law legal training per year. The national technical assistance project&#146;s &#147;basics&#148; course fulfills this requirement for the staff member&#146;s first year. Projects may negotiate additional customized, on-site legal training, operational, or programmatic consultation to be provided through the national technical assistance project. b. Technical Assistance and Case Consultation Services: The applicant must provide ongoing technical assistance to the pension counseling projects and other legal and aging services providers based on need. Services include case consultation, legal research, writing, and other legal back-up services as required. The center should create and provide opportunities for communications among and between projects, and should aid the projects and others in identifying local subject matter experts to support technical assistance efforts. The project will also be responsible for monitoring legal, regulatory and other relevant developments, and for communicating these developments to the projects and others. i. Reference Materials: The center is charged with maintaining a well-stocked and relevant library of employee benefits reference materials, and for recommending an appropriate subset of those materials to the counseling projects for their own local libraries. At a minimum, the library will include one or more legal treatises covering employee benefits law (such as Employee Benefits Law, 2nd Ed. and annual cumulative supplement through BNA Books), as well as a print or electronic resource for accessing all relevant primary source reference material. Reference materials should be specifically identified in the attached budget narrative and should be sufficient to adequately support the required technical assistance function of the center. 2. Nationwide Client Referral and Program Outreach: The proposal must include a plan for providing nationwide client referral services in support of the pension counseling projects and other Program efforts, as well as for a nationwide outreach plan to ensure that clients and other relevant audiences know about the availability of the pension counseling network and how to access it. a. Client Referral Services: The center is required to provide nationwide client referral services in support of the pension counseling projects and other pension assistance resources. Referral services should be aimed at providing the most substantively and geographically appropriate referral. To this end, the center will develop and/or maintain a nationwide dataset of no-cost pension assistance resources that includes the pension counseling projects, appropriate government agencies, and other providers of basic pension assistance. The center should leverage existing information and service provider networks. Proposals must include a plan for making this information accessible to potential pension counseling clients, relevant service providers, and other applicable audiences nationwide and at no cost to consumers. Proposals must also present a strategy to make the service equally accessible to underserved and hard-to-reach senior populations, including those with limited-English proficiency. Additional resources may be included in the dataset for clients whose needs are pension-related but outside the scope of basic pension counseling: litigation services; actuarial and accounting services; drafting domestic relations orders; providing financial education; retirement and estate planning services; or other elder rights and consumer protection services. While service providers in these non-core areas may charge for their services, referral information must be provided free of charge. b. National Outreach Efforts: The center will be charged with conducting ongoing nationwide outreach efforts aimed to ensure that consumers, service providers, and other stakeholders are aware that pension assistance is available and of how to access that assistance. Proposals should include a cost-effective outreach plan that will address both the general public and service provider networks. An appropriate portion of consumer-focused outreach should target underserved and hard-to-reach senior populations, including those with limited-English proficiency. Outreach should prioritize the most relevant service provider and client-referral networks. Specific efforts should be made to coordinate outreach with the State
GrantorContactEmailDescription: rebecca.mann@aoa.gov
GrantorContactText: Rebecca Mann &lt;br/&gt;Grants Management Specialist &lt;br/&gt;