If you received a "Potential Private Retirement Benefit
Information"
notice from Social Security, it is based on years-old information, as indicated by the "Year Reported" box. The key word is "potential." Here's how to decode it -- and who to contact if you are not sure what happened with that account.
HP Breakup. On Nov 1, 2015,
the Hewlett-Packard Company was renamed HP Inc.
and a new, independent company -- Hewlett Packard
Enterprise (no hyphen; singular; green-rectangle logo) -- was
spun out. Portions
of HPE were later spun out into DXC and Micro Focus, which have spun out
other companies. Details:
HP Breakup
HPInc is the legal successor to the companies acquired by
the Hewlett-Packard Company before the company was split into HPInc and
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE.) Responsibility for any commitments
to former employees of Autonomy, Compaq, Digital, EDS, Tandem, etc.
remain with HPInc -- regardless of whether the employee's last business
unit ended up in HPInc or HPE. This includes employment verification and
any retiree health coverage, pension, 401(k), etc. plans. HPE is
responsible for any commitments to former employees of companies
acquired by HPE, such as Cray, Nimble, etc. (About the HP Breakup)
Which HP-related companies am I a retiree or former employee of? (Not always obvious.)
Given HP's complex history of acquisitions, divestitures, and spinoffs, the company or companies that you are legally a former employee of may
not be obvious. If any doubt, check here:
Which Company
HP
contacts
Make sure that HPInc has
your current postal address.
Even if not classified by the company as a "Retiree" or if long gone -- in case of class-action
settlements or other issues. Update
address at former company
Pension:
-
If you were employed by DEC prior to March 1, 1996: You may
have a benefit under the HP Cash Account Pension Plan.
Plan details in this HP document, which may be out of date:
2008 HP CAP Summary Plan Description
How to decode an
SPD. (For example, many of the postal contact addresses given in
SPDs are extinct.)
Decoding SPDs
- The HPInc Retirement
Service Center manages pension and 401(k) accounts
for HPInc (formerly named Hewlett-Packard Company.)
Also manages any pension or 401(k) accounts that
Hewlett-Packard predecessor companies (such as Compaq, Digital, and EDS)
may have had. Operated by Fidelity Investments.
1-800-457-4015, M-F 7:30 AM to 11:00 PM Central
Time. Outside the U.S., call 1-508-787-9902 collect. Website:
https://nb.fidelity.com/public/nb/hp/home
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
-
Annual Benefits Enrollment. Details and advice from
members:
https://www.hpalumni.org/Annual
-
Join the
HPAA Benefits Forum. Discuss U.S. HP/HPInc/HPE COBRA and
retiree health benefits, including Annual Enrollment and
transition to Medicare.
Time to untangle your stock!
- No one but you really cares about
your employment-related stock. You may have stock in up to seven
HP-related companies (HPQ, HPE, A, KEYS, DXC, MFGP, PRSP.) Your stock may not all be in the same place. You may need to retrieve lost stock or dividends, find stray accounts, or estimate your cost basis. An HP Alumni team has developed a step-by-step process to find and protect your stock.
Employee Stock
- Stock Decoder tables for:
Compaq
DEC
Tandem
Employment verification and experience letters
for Hewlett-Packard, HPInc, Hewlett Packard Enterprise,
predecessor companies, and successor companies. How to
provide current and past employment status and salary to
potential employers, financial institutions, and government
aid agencies.
Employment and Salary Verification
Experience Letter
For those in the workforce, select the links below that fit your
situation...
- Current HPInc or HPE employee:
Networking and Information.
Join
DEC professional networking groups
- HPInc 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.
Check your LinkedIn profile!
You may be surprised. LinkedIn has changed how employers are
identified -- dropping employers and modifying profiles
without notice. In addition, HP positions were changed to
HPE. You want recruiters to believe your profile -- and
former co-workers to find you.
Step-by-step instructions:
https://www.hpalumni.org/LinkedInPositions
Compaq acquisition of DEC: For each share of DEC
owned on June 11, 1998, DEC shareholders received $30.00 in
cash and 0.945 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
Article
DEC history and culture
Join the independent
DEC
Connection and perhaps other
DEC alumni social groups.
Original DEC
Business Plan: The
DEC
Connection has a copy of the 1957 document:
Ken Olson's Business Plan
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
Ken Olsen, 1988
