For Compaq
Alumni
(Updated Apr 8, 2021.) Comments about this page to:
info@hpalumni.org
Select the links below that fit your situation...
- Current HPInc or HPE employee:
Networking and Information for Current Employees. Join
Ex-Compaq* group on LinkedIn.
- HPInc or HPE employee in the process of leaving: use the
ASAP
checklist. Join
Ex-Compaq* and
HP Connections
groups on LinkedIn.
- Former Compaq employee who never worked for
HP: Join
Ex-Compaq* and
HP Connections
groups on LinkedIn.
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.
Compaq 401(k) plan:
- 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: HPInc Retirement Service Center administers
pension and 401(k) accounts for HPInc (formerly named
Hewlett-Packard Company.) Also administers 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
- Administered by Vanguard before Compaq
was sold to HP.
- 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
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
HPAA's main directory of
HPInc 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
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
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
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 HP's many
predecessor companies, only HP and DEC had retiree healthcare programs.
Only HP, DEC, and EDS had pension plans. Over the years, HP, DEC, and
EDS set aside money in dedicated trust funds to pay for those programs.
Compaq, Tandem, Autonomy, Palm, etc. did not have retiree healthcare or
pensions among their benefits programs. Their employees did not have
those expectations and there were no corresponding trust funds to pass
on to an acquiring company. Therefore, employees of those companies do
not get credit under HP's retiree healthcare or pension programs for
service at the predecessor company. (Predecessor service does count for FTO.) Details:
Digital
EDS
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
Compaq news:
- October 25, 1991: "The Day Everything Changed at Compaq"
LinkedIn "Pulse" article by Sean Burke
- "Open: How Compaq Ended IBM's PC
Domination and Helped Invent Modern Computing" – by Rod
Canion. "...a series of risky and daring decisions – often
facing criticism and incredulity – that allowed the open PC
standard marketplace to thrive and the incredible benefits
of open computing to be realized." BenBella Books (October
15, 2013) ASIN:
1937856992 Author's website:
The
Compaq Story
- Documentary based on Rod Canion's "Open"
-- "Silicon
Cowboys"
Other links:
-
Networking
Directory of HP- and Compaq-related networks and groups
around the world.
-
Contacts for
former HP, HPInc, and HPE employees
Compaq history:
-
Compaq company history (via the Internet Archive)
- Gordon Bell's
Compaq/DEC timeline
- Compaq
Wikipedia article – with references and links. Note:
Wikipedia articles change over time, may not cover all aspects of the
topic consistently, and may not be written from a neutral point of view.
* The informal
Ex-Compaq Employees group on LinkedIn is operated by Compaq
alumni, not by the HPAA.
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
Rod Canion, Jim Harris, and Bill
Murto – 1982.
