My husband recently passed, I was noted as Bene on the Life Insurance policy but when it came to his Pension, I was not the Bene and they would not tell me who was or if anyone was named at all. I have been reading the U.S. Department of Labor Laws, but with all the legal wording, it's hard to understand. I was told by other employees that a letter was sent out for them to update their information because the employer had changed Service Provider for their Pension plan. This switch was made months after we were married. Knowing my husband and the many hours he puts in, he forgot to update this information. Is it safe to say that when a company changes service providers, the information from the old service provider should not have gone over to the new service provider? Because the plan administrator will not give me any information, only that "I am not listed as Bene", can I still file a claim or do I need to get a lawyer?

GoneToSoon

Typically the spouse is required to consent to naming anyone else as the beneficiary. Some plans, however, require that you be married more than a year to qualify as the spouse for that purpose.

When you say "plan administrator" is that someone at the company, or an outside firm? I would start by talking to someone in HR at the company.

Good advice. But beware, some (large) companies may outsource this function to an outside vendor.

The plan administrator is someone from the service provider company but is located in his job's finance department and they are on his job's payroll. The service provider would not give information to a "3rd" party and suggested that I speak with someone at the location.

We have been married 1 year and 9 mths.