For Compaq
Alumni (Updated
Apr 11, 2025)
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HPInc. is the overall legal successor to Hewlett-Packard and to companies acquired by Hewlett-Packard before Nov 1, 2015 – such as Compaq, DEC, EDS, Tandem, etc.
For employees of HP -- and predecessor companies -- who left before the HPInc/HPE split, responsibility for any health or retirement benefits varies from country to country.
For the US, HPInc has responsibility. For Canada and
UK, HPE has responsibility. In many countries, plans were split between HPInc and HPE. See:
Where are my benefits?
Key contact:
The HP Retirement Service Center is the primary administrator for HP Inc U.S. pension and 401(k) accounts,
including any accounts for companies that Hewlett-Packard acquired before Nov 1, 2015 (Compaq, DEC, EDS, etc.)
Operated by Fidelity Investments.
1-800-457-4015 (If no password, keep hitting #.) (Outside US 1-508-787-9902 collect.)
https://nb.fidelity.com (Don't go to a local Fidelity office, which is focused on sales.)
Compaq history -- Books, articles, websites, video.
Select the links below that fit your situation...
- Current HP or HPE employee:
Networking and Information for Current Employees. Join
Ex-Compaq* group on LinkedIn.
- HP or HPE employee in the process of leaving: use the
ASAP
checklist. Join
Ex-Compaq* and
"Hewlett-Packard / HPE - Unofficial" on LinkedIn
- Former Compaq employee who never worked for
HP: Join
Ex-Compaq*
group on LinkedIn.
(The
Ex-Compaq group on LinkedIn is operated by Compaq
alumni, not by the HPAA.)
Received a "Potential Private Retirement Benefit" letter from U.S. Social Security? It shows your last transaction ("Year Reported.") Look up the "Type of Benefit" and "Payment Frequency" codes on the back. Who to contact:
"Potential Benefit" letter
If you have paper stock certificates. What to do:
Stock Certificates
Compaq 401(k) plan #001:
- Name: "Compaq Computer Corporation 401(k) Investment Plan"
- EIN: 76-0011617 Plan number: 001 ("EIN" = IRS Employer
Identification Number)
- Abbreviated as: 76-0011617-001
- Administrator:
The HP Retirement Service Center is the primary administrator for HP Inc U.S. pension and 401(k) accounts,
including any accounts for companies that Hewlett-Packard acquired before Nov 1, 2015 (Compaq, DEC, EDS, etc.)
Operated by Fidelity Investments.
1-800-457-4015 (If no password, keep hitting #.) (Outside US 1-508-787-9902 collect.)
https://nb.fidelity.com (Don't go to a local Fidelity office, which is focused on sales.)
- Previous administrator before Compaq
was sold to HP -- Vanguard.
- Be sure you have a valid beneficiary designation on file
at Fidelity.
- Benefits under 401(k) plans are not insured by the Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC.)
- For details of the plan, see the
last SEC report on the Compaq 401(k) Plan
(from 2002, the year that Compaq was sold to HP.)
Compaq 401(k) plan #002:
- Name: "NetWorth Inc 401K Pension Plan" [Compaq
acquired NetWorth Inc of Irving, TX in 1995.]
- EIN: 76-0011617 Plan number: 002 ("EIN" = IRS Employer
Identification Number)
- Abbreviated as: 76-0011617-002
- Administrator: The HP Retirement Service Center is the primary administrator for HP Inc U.S. pension and 401(k) accounts,
including any accounts for companies that Hewlett-Packard acquired before Nov 1, 2015 (Compaq, DEC, EDS, etc.)
Operated by Fidelity Investments.
1-800-457-4015 (If no password, keep hitting #.) (Outside US 1-508-787-9902 collect.)
https://nb.fidelity.com (Don't go to a local Fidelity office, which is focused on sales.)
- Previous administrator before Compaq
was sold to HP -- unknown.
- Be sure you have a valid beneficiary designation on file
at Fidelity.
- Benefits under 401(k) plans are not insured by the Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC.)
- Cannot find a
Form 5500 report filed since January 1, 2010 on this
plan.
HP merger with Compaq. Before the deal was announced, Compaq
stock was down to $12 -- from $33 in 1999. Compaq management and
board negotiated a merger at 18% over market price. (90% of Compaq
shares
were voted in favor; 51% of HP shares
were voted in favor.)
Deal closed on May 3, 2002. HWP stock symbol was changed to HPQ.
Compaq shareholders received 0.6325 share of HPQ in exchange for
each CPQ share. CPQ stock was retired. (Compaq had bought Tandem on
Sep 2, 1997 and bought DEC on Jun 12, 1998.)
HP Breakup. On Nov 1, 2015, the legal name of the Hewlett-Packard Company was changed to HP Inc.
and a new, completely separate company – Hewlett Packard
Enterprise (no hyphen, singular) – was spun off. Portions of HPE were later spun off into DXC and Micro Focus:
HP Breakup
Which HP-related companies have me classified as a retiree or former employee?
Due to acquisitions and spinoffs, this may not be obvious. Check here:
Which Company
Contacts at HP Inc. -- the successor company:
HP contacts
Make sure that the overall legal successor to every company you ever worked for has your current postal address.
Even if not classified by the company as a "Retiree" or
if long gone -- in case of pension plan changes, employment
lawsuits, settlements, or other issues. Update address at former
company
Update and strengthen your LinkedIn profile. Even if not currently looking, you need a strong, credible LinkedIn profile. Reconnect with people who know your work. Be found for your specialty and background by AI, recruiters, and managers. Your profile may look bogus -- most HP positions were changed to HPE; the LinkedIn company selector has trouble with "Hewlett-Packard" and "EDS." Member advice on settings, networking, emails.
hpalumni.org/LinkedIn
Stock.
You may now have shares of HPInc, HPE, and/or DXC – in different accounts – and may not have received cash payouts.
Find it all – and estimate your current cost basis:
Stock Step-by-Step
How one broker handled stock history for:
Compaq
DEC
Tandem
If you bought CPQ shares under the Compaq employee stock purchase
plan, those shares were automatically converted to HPQ shares at the
time of the merger. Unless you have sold or transferred them, the shares
(and your corresponding new Hewlett Packard Enterprise and other spinoff
shares) are being held by the last administrator of the plan, Morgan
Stanley Smith Barney -- which is no longer being paid by the company for
this work.
Details and
HPAA advice for former CPQ employee shareholders
Morgan Stanley customers are getting different results from different
divisions of the company -- depending on whether they were
participants in the Compaq Employee Stock Purchase Plan or had
transferred their HP stock to a personal account at Morgan Stanley's
local-office-based retail brokerage division.
Morgan Stanley issues reported by members
Service at predecessor companies. Of HPInc's many
predecessor companies, only HP and DEC ever had retiree healthcare
programs. Only HP, DEC, and EDS ever had pension plans. Over the years,
HP, DEC, and EDS set aside money in dedicated trust funds to pay for
those programs. Therefore, employees of other acquisitions did not get
credit under HP's retiree healthcare or pension programs for service at
the predecessor -- but generally did get service credit for other
benefits.
Worldwide employment verification and experience letters for
Hewlett-Packard, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and related
companies.
Employment and Experience Verification
Reconnect, celebrate the good times, and appreciate those who have
passed. Leading Compaq- and HP-related Facebook groups -- which you
can join without disclosing personal info:
https://www.hpalumni.org/facebook
Contacts for
former HP and HPE employees:
Contacts