Key: Legal successor and corporate names.
- HPInc is the legal successor to EDS. Responsibility was
not transferred to successor companies such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise or DXC. HPInc has
responsibility for any
commitments to former EDS employees. This includes
any retiree health coverage, pension, 401(k), etc. plans.
(Does not depend on whether the employee's last business unit ended up in HPInc or Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the
HP Breakup.)
- When EDS was acquired by HP on Aug 26, 2008, it was
temporarily structured as a wholly-owned subsidiary called "EDS,
an HP Company."
On Sep 23, 2009, it was
renamed "HP Enterprise
Services."
- On Oct 21, 2015, Hewlett-Packard Company spun off
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (no hyphen; singular.)
Make sure that 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 from the company -- in case of class-action
settlements, pension, or stock issues. Update
address at former company
Other benefits issues for EDS alumni -- including 401(k),
stock, HPInc and HPE retiree benefits, vehicle discounts. Report disability or a
death to the
company.
https://www.hpalumni.org/edsBenefits
Pension contacts:
- U.S. 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 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
- UK: Administered
by
Equiniti.
- Outside the
U.S. Try the
HPInc official HR Support Country Selector or
HPInc Corporate contact points (scroll to end of page.)
EDS pension:
If you received a "Potential Private Retirement Benefit Information"
notice from Social Security, it is usually based on outdated information
about a retirement plan or an employee stock fund. Note 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
If you were employed by EDS or "EDS, an HP Company" before
January 1, 2009 you may have an EDS pension that you have
forgotten about. If you are not collecting on (or did not
cash in) an EDS pension, check for an EDS pension account
with Fidelity.
"You may have a benefit in the [EDS Retirement] Plan if you
were employed by EDS before HP acquired EDS on Aug
26, 2008, or if you joined "EDS, an HP Company"
[quotation marks added] between
Aug 26, 2008 and December 31, 2008. The plan was closed
to new participants on January 1, 2009. Eligibility to earn
Pay-Based Credits to Personal Pension Accounts (PPAs) under
the Plan ended on December 31, 2008, although Interest
Credits continue to accrue on existing PPA accounts"
--from our copy
of the
EDS Retirement Plan Summary Plan Description
(SPD)
How to decode an
SPD. (For example, many of the postal contact addresses given in
SPDs are extinct.)
Decoding SPDs
Key points:
The account
is growing at 5% per year if you left EDS after July 1,
1998.
What if HP
goes under? The plan is backed by a trust fund -- and is listed
on the federal PBGC website as insured. (Full payout not
guaranteed for larger pensions -- $5,812
per month maximum for someone who starts taking
pension at 65. See this table:
https://www.pbgc.gov/wr/benefits/guaranteed-benefits/maximum-guarantee
)
If employee
dies before payments begin, generally payable to surviving
spouse or beneficiary. (Details on SPD page 26.)
Key
document: "EDS Retirement Plan Summary Plan
Description" (the "SPD") -- with many
key details, including annual interest credit, QDRO, and
surviving spouse provisions. Our copy of the SPD is "Updated as of January 2012" Contact Fidelity to
determine if there is a newer version.
There are at least two vintages of the EDS plan. Download the SPD
from Fidelity that specifically applies to you -- based on
when you left EDS.
For example, the
"Updated as of January 2012" copy of the SPD does
not apply if you left EDS
before July 1, 1998.
It says on page 1:
"Benefits for participants who terminated from EDS before
July 1, 1998 are subject to separate provisions not
described in this SPD. For more information about these
benefits, contact the HP Retirement Services Center."
https://www.hpalumni.org/EDSRetirementPlanSPD-HP_Final_2012_HP_EDS_Retirement_Plan_SPD.pdf
If you left EDS on or after July 1, 1998 -- and have not cashed out
or started taking the pension -- the account has been and
will continue to grow at 5% per year.
"Personal Pension Accounts ...continue to receive
Interest Credits, even after ceasing to earn Pay-Based
Credits. Your PPA is credited with Interest Credits at a
predetermined rate that’s adjusted annually each January 1
subject to a minimum rate of 5% per year. Interest Credits
continue to accumulate until your PPA is paid to you or
converted to an annuity at retirement." [Page 9 of the
Summary Plan Description.
Lump-sum payout offers:
- 2016: A pension
buyout offer was made to those with a "lump-sum present
value of your accrued benefit as of Aug 1, 2016" between $5K
to $100K.
2016 Pension
Lump-Sum Offer
- 2019: EDS folks with small
pensions were offered lump-sum payouts -- apparently to
reduce admin costs. "At the present time... the Plan does
not allow lump-sum distributions for amounts over $5,000. We
don’t speculate if that policy will change. However, if Plan
provisions do change to allow lump sums over $5000, affected
participants will be notified via mail." --email in response
to inquiry from an EDS alum, April 19, 2019.
- 2020: A
lump-sum pension buyout offer was made to some who have legacy DEC and EDS
pension plans. Deadline was July 15, 2020;
extended to July 22,
2020. Details:
2020 Pension
Lump-Sum Offer
The EDS pension plan has survived the sale to GM in 1984,
spin-out from GM in 1996,
sale to HP, and
the split of HP into HPInc and HPE.
One person referred to EDS founder Ross Perot
on the
EDS Alumni LinkedIn Group:
"Ross is the gift that doesn't stop giving."
The Hewlett-Packard Alumni Association is operated by former employees
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