For DEC retirees...

Compaq was the legal successor to DEC. HP Inc, in turn, is the legal successor to Compaq -- and has responsibility for any commitments. (Does not depend on whether your last business unit subsequently ended up in HP Inc or Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the HP Breakup.)

If you received a "Potential Private Retirement Benefit Information" notice from Social Security, it is usually based on outdated information -- as indicated by the "Year Reported" date on the form included in the body of the notice. Here's how to decode it: https://www.hpalumni.org/PotentialBenefitLetter

HP Inc Retirement Service Center (operated by Fidelity Investments.) manages pension and 401(k) accounts for HP Inc (formerly named Hewlett-Packard Company.) 1-800-457-4015, M-F 7:30 AM to 11:00 PM Central Time. Outside the US, call 1-508-787-9902 collect. Fidelity website: Fidelity Also manages any pension or 401(k) accounts that Hewlett-Packard predecessor companies may have had

Plan details in this HP document, which may be out of date: 2008 HP CAP Summary Plan Description

Digital Pension Plan. You may have a benefit under the HP Cash Account Pension Plan if you were formerly employed by Digital Equipment Corporation, including benefits earned under the Digital Pension Plan prior to March 1, 1996

Digital Retiree Health Program. HP's official table to determine if you are qualified for health coverage. Pre-2003, Post-2002, and Digital Retiree Health Programs

DEC retirees: There are several references to Digital in the 9-page "What's Changing Guide" that is combined with the 2020 HP Inc Retiree Enrollment Guide. To find them, use Adobe Reader's search feature to find "digital" in the pdf file. (To search for a word or phrase in a pdf file, press Ctrl + F on a PC -- or Command + F on a Mac.) https://www.hpalumni.org/EnrollmentGuides

Annual Benefits Enrollment details and advice from members: https://www.hpalumni.org/Annual

HP Inc Benefits Center: The "cosmic glue" for all US HP Inc benefits issues.
(Operated for HP Inc by Alight Solutions -- formerly Aon Hewitt. Also manages retiree health coverage for many HPE retirees and any retiree health plans from predecessors such as DEC.)
1-800-890-3100 -- 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Time, Monday - Friday
1-847-883-0465 -- Outside the United States, Puerto Rico, or Canada
Ask for a "Retirement Specialist" -- otherwise, you may get an agent who is primarily trained on current-employee issues.
If the first-level Benefits Center phone agent can't resolve your issue, ask them to escalate your call. Use the magic word "escalate." We get very good reports from members who have escalated within the Benefits Center.

Employment verification and Experience Letters. (Also covers the company's predecessor companies.) Official HP instructions -- and HPAA member tips -- on how to provide current and past employment status and salary to potential employers, financial institutions, and government aid agencies. Employment Verification: https://www.hpalumni.org/verif. Experience Letter: https://www.hpalumni.org/verif-letter

Join the HPAA Benefits Forum. Mutual help on health coverage -- COBRA, retirement, Medicare, open-market. Decoding Annual Enrollment. Other company-administered benefits such as discounts

Join the independent DEC Connection and perhaps other DEC alumni social groups.

For those in the workforce, select the links below that fit your situation...

- Current HP or HPE employee: Networking and Information. Join DEC professional networking groups

- HP or HPE employee in the process of leaving or being laid off: ASAP checklist.

- Former DEC employee who never worked for HP: Join the independent DEC Connection and perhaps other DEC alumni social groups. Plus join the HP Connections group on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn: How to get your LinkedIn profile to show the correct company for each position. LinkedIn Tips & Traps - Positions

Networking Directory of HP- and DEC-related networks and groups worldwide

Contacts for former HP and HPE employees (And DEC retirees.)

Compaq acquisition of DEC: For each share of DEC owned on June 11, 1998, DEC shareholders received $30.00 in cash and .945 shares of Compaq stock. Source: SEC 8K filing  "Compaq Computer Corp., seeking to expand into the lucrative enterprise computing business, agreed Monday to acquire Digital Equipment Corp. in a blockbuster deal worth $9.6 billion. ... $57.41 a share in cash and stock, well above Friday's closing price of $45.44." Source: CNN Money

Urban Legend:

Did Ken Olsen say there was "no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home"'?
"Legend. The out-of-context misinterpretation of Olsen's comments has been promulgated for decades. What Olsen was addressing in 1977 was the concept of powerful computers that controlled every aspect of home life. The fear that computers might even try to take charge altogether was widely experienced." --Snopes, the urban legend and misinformation reference site  snopes.com article

Videos and articles:
- Gordon Bell's "CyberMuseum for Digital Equipment Corp Documents, Photo Albums, Talks, and Videotapes"
- Website of Gordon College:
http://www.gordon.edu/kenolsen

Where to sell or donate DEC equipment and memorabilia:

http://www.decconnection.org/DECdonations.htm

Articles:

- "Lessons from Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corp." MIT Sloan Management Review. "How many current Fortune 500 executives will be remembered fondly by their former employees?"
MIT Sloan Management Review
- "Ken Olsen: Faith, Work, And Charity Support A Computing Career" Doris Kilban, Electronic Design
Electronic Design article
- "Computer pioneer Ken Olsen dies" Boston Globe
Boston Globe article
- "Ken Olsen, Who Built DEC Into a Power, Dies at 84" New York Times
New York Times article
- "Ken Olsen Founder Digital Equipment Corp Passes Away" Silicon Angle
Silicon Angle article

Books:
- "DEC Is Dead, Long Live DEC: The Lasting Legacy of Digital Equipment Corporation" Edgar H. Schein et al
Amazon (Look inside the book at Amazon)
- "Digital at Work: Snapshots of the First Thirty-Five Years" Jamie Parker Pearson, ed.
Amazon    Amazon
- "The Ultimate Entrepreneur: The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporation" Glenn Rifkin and George Harrar
Amazon

The Hewlett-Packard Alumni Association is operated by former employees who volunteer their time. Not officially endorsed or supported by any company. More about the HPAA