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For Compaq Alumni   (Jun 27, 2023)

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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.) and that HP Inc acquired later (Poly, 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.)

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 - Worldwide" 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.)


If you received a letter from Social Security entitled "Potential Private Retirement Benefit." How to decode the letter and 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.) and that HP Inc acquired later (Poly, 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.)

- 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.) and that HP Inc acquired later (Poly, 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.)

- 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's purchase of Compaq was closed on May 3, 2002. Compaq shareholders received 0.6325 share of HPQ in exchange for each CPQ share -- 18% over market price. CPQ stock was retired. HWP stock symbol changed to HPQ.

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; green-rectangle logo) -- was spun out. Portions of HPE were later spun out into DXC and Micro Focus, which have spun out other companies: HP Breakup

HP Inc. is the legal successor to the companies acquired by Hewlett-Packard before the company was split into HP Inc and Hewlett Packard Enterprise on Nov 1, 2015. Responsibility for commitments to former employees of Compaq, DEC, EDS, etc. remain with HP Inc. -- regardless of whether their last business unit ended up in HP or HPE. Includes employment verification and any retiree health, pension, etc. plans.

Which HP-related companies have me classified as a retiree or former employee? Given HP's history of acquisitions and spinoffs, this may not be obvious. If any doubt, check here: Which Company

Contacts at HP Inc. -- the successor company: HP contacts

Make sure that the 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 profile on LinkedIn. People check you out before working with you. Recruiters search for skills and background. LinkedIn helps you reconnect with people who know you and your work.

Check your LinkedIn profile. (Click your photo, select "View Profile.") LinkedIn has been standardizing company names, with odd results. Recruiters view illogical entries -- such as HPE positions before 2015 -- as fake. (HPE changed many decades-old HP positions to HPE.) Watch for typos. You can emphasize or de-emphasize some of your experience and background.

Tricks and traps: hpalumni.org/LinkedIn

Stock: You may now have stock in HP, HPE, Agilent, Keysight, and DXC in various accounts -- and may have missed cash payouts for Perspecta and Micro Focus. How many shares of which companies should I have? How much cash should I have received? Stock Recovery Process

HPAA's detailed 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 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.

Employment verification and experience letters for Hewlett-Packard, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and related companies. Employment and Experience Verification

Facebook groups: Reconnect, celebrate the good times, and appreciate those who have passed. There are social groups on Facebook for HP, EDS, DEC, Tandem, and Compaq. Private, independent online forums operated and moderated by people from each community. Directory of leading HP-related Facebook groups: https://www.hpalumni.org/facebook

Contacts for former HP and HPE employees: Contacts   


Helping each other with life after HP and HPE:  Website    Forums

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