Pension 2021. HP/HPE Alumni

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U.S. HP Pension Transition 2021

Advice and reference info from members. (Updated Sep 1, 2025) Click to join the HPAA Question? Email us: info@hpalumni.org

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The independent HP/HPE Alumni Association is operated by volunteers. This note is based on documents provided to HP, DEC, and EDS retirees and on HPAA forum discussions. Not officially endorsed or supported.

Received a "Potential Private Retirement Benefit" letter from U.S. Social Security? How to decode the letter and who to contact, if necessary: "Potential Benefit" letter

HP Inc is the overall legal successor to Hewlett-Packard and to companies acquired by Hewlett-Packard before Nov 1, 2015 – Compaq, EDS, etc. – regardless of whether a business unit ended up in HP Inc or HPE. Unofficial directory of HP/HPE acquisitions For employees of HP -- and predecessor companies -- who left before the HPInc/HPE separation, responsibility for any health or retirement benefits varies from country to country. For the US, HP Inc has responsibility. For Canada and UK, HPE has responsibility. In many countries, plans were split between HP Inc and HPE. See: Where are my benefits? HP Inc, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, DXC, and Perspecta are completely separate companies.

EDS: If you were employed by EDS or "EDS, an HP Company" before Jan 1, 2009 -- you may have an EDS pension, which has been merged with an HPInc pension plan: https://www.hpalumni.org/edsPension

HP Inc to Prudential to Empower.

In 2020, HP Inc irrevocably transferred pension administration and $5.2 billion in payment obligations for 41,000 U.S. HP, DEC, and EDS retirees to Prudential Insurance Company
through the purchase of a group annuity contract -- funded from the HP pension plan.

The benefit amounts and terms remained the same. The transfer applied only to those who were receiving monthly U.S. HP, DEC, or EDS pension payments that commenced on or
before Nov 1, 2020 -- except those who had a Qualified Domestic Relations Order on file at Fidelity.

Those whose pension commenced after Nov 1, 2020 are still part of the HP Inc Pension Plan, administered by Fidelity.

In Apr 2022, Empower Annuity Insurance of America acquired Prudential's 4-million-participant retirement business. HPAA members report that benefit amounts have remained the same. Letter sent by Empower to annuitants: https://docs.empower-retirement.com/Empower/PRU/Empower-Transition-Disclosure-Participant.pdf (HPAA copy)

Fidelity has the historical records for all US HP pensions. Fidelity can verify the postal mailing address on your account and determine if your pension was one of the 41,000 accounts that were transferred.
They can look up the pension option you selected. (At various times available pension options may have included lump sum, monthly payment, reduced monthly payment with survivor benefit, etc.)

HP Inc pension contacts -- start here:

- US: (Fidelity) 1-800-457-4015 (If no password, keep hitting #.) (Outside US 1-508-787-9902 collect.) Fidelity (Don't go to a local Fidelity office, which is focused on sales.)

- UK: Pension -- HP, DEC, EDS. HP Limited Retirement Benefits Plan, administered by Equiniti. https://hprbp.com

- HP Inc worldwide former-employee contacts: https://content.ext.hp.com/sites/CountrySupport/CountrySelector.page HP Inc worldwide office directory: https://www.hp.com/us-en/contact-hp/ww-office-locs.html HP Inc headquarters: 10300 Energy Drive, Spring, TX 77389. (At a US Post Office window, you can specify Certified Mail combined with Return Receipt.)

Action:

Three possible courses of action -- depending on your situation:

A. If you have a U.S. HP, DEC, or EDS pension plan, have been receiving monthly payments that commenced on or before November 1, 2020 -- and did *not* receive a mailing from Prudential in 2021, log into your Fidelity account to determine if the pension change applied to you. Also check that Fidelity has your current postal address and, if applicable, current beneficiary information.
https://netbenefits.fidelity.com
If you can't log in, or you have questions, call Fidelity 1-800-457-4015 (If no password, keep hitting #.) (Outside US 1-508-787-9902 collect.) Don't go to a local Fidelity office, which is focused on sales.

B. If you have received a mailing from Prudential, set up a Prudential account and fill in the enclosed form (or update the information online) with your current personal and emergency contact information. The mailing includes a Benefit Statement, "How is my annuity payment protected," and instructions on changing your beneficiary. HPAA copy: https://www.hpalumni.org/pension2021-statement.pdf

C. Everyone else: Log into your Fidelity account to check that Fidelity has your current contact information, terms of your plan, and current beneficiary information. https://netbenefits.fidelity.com
If you can't log in, or you have questions, call Fidelity 1-800-457-4015 (If no password, keep hitting #.) (Outside US 1-508-787-9902 collect.) Don't go to a local Fidelity office, which is focused on sales.

What you need to know about pensions. The non-profit Pension Rights Center discusses the records you should keep about your pension -- and the underlying insurance coverage differences between a pension and an annuity: https://www.pensionrights.org/resources/commonly-asked-questions/

Glitches. We've heard of some corner-case issues in the conversion:

- If you have ever had an account at Prudential -- such as a life insurance account or an account that has been closed -- annuity payments work correctly, but you may need to contact Prudential support to fully set up your pension account under a different login.

- Some retirees living outside the U.S. were erroneously transferred to Prudential.

HPAA's directory of financial benefits contacts for former HP employees: https://www.hpalumni.org/contacts-HPI-financial

HP notification in September 2021:

"...we are transferring the administration and payment obligation of your pension benefit to Prudential through the purchase of a group annuity contract... The group annuity contract covers most eligible retirees, their surviving beneficiaries, and alternate payees receiving monthly pension payments from the Pension Plan that commenced on or before November 1, 2020.

"The amount and terms of your benefits will remain the same as your current benefits. This change will happen automatically effective November 1, 2021... Payments made to your bank via direct deposit will continue without interruption. You will receive a Welcome Kit from Prudential in mid/late October..."

The HP notice includes a detailed four-page FAQ, including "How will my pension benefit be protected." HPAA copy of the notice: https://www.hpalumni.org/pension2021-notice.pdf

If your pension was among those that were transferred to an Prudential annuity, Fidelity and Prudential indicated that you received two end-of-year statements for 2021: one from Fidelity, for the portion of the year they administered your pension, and from Prudential for the rest of the year. Must be mailed by Jan 31, 2022; were available online Jan 17.

HP has made no statement as to if, or when, a similar change might apply to other participants.

Background:

- EDS folks who retired from GM report that their GM company pension plans were transferred to Prudential annuities many years ago -- and that the original terms are being lived up to by Prudential, now Empower.

- The HP, DEC, and EDS pension plans have very different terms. Members report that HP is living up to the specific terms of each plan.

- The key document for a US employee retirement or health plan is the legal Summary Plan Description (SPD). It includes plan details and an address at the employer for appeals. The current SPD takes precedence over any other written, online, or verbal information you may have been given -- but is still subject to change. The employer's plan administrator is required by law to provide the SPD upon request. How to obtain and decode: https://www.hpalumni.org/SPD-decode

- Acquired companies. EDS and DEC pensions are legal obligations of HP Inc. -- regardless of whether their last business unit ended up in HP or HPE. DEC pensions have been paid since 1998 by Compaq and now by HP Inc. (Other acquired companies did not have pension plans and had not built up pension trust funds to pass to an acquiring company.)

Financial details:

HP SEC filing: "HP entered into an agreement with The Prudential Insurance Company of America to purchase an irrevocable group annuity contract and transfer approximately $5.2 billion of the HP Inc. U.S. Pension Plan obligations... Prudential will assume responsibility for pension benefits and annuity administration for approximately 41,000 retirees and beneficiaries. This transaction will not change the amount or timing of monthly retirement benefit payments." HP July 31, 2021 10Q filing
"Select retirees, such as certain individuals with Qualified Domestic Relations Orders, were excluded from this transfer of benefits." --HP spokesperson

Nov. 23, 2021 Wall Street Journal: "HP Inc. reported strong earnings and gave an upbeat outlook... including a one-time $1.78 billion legal settlement."

From HP's Nov. 23 SEC filing:

"...litigation judgment in connection with Oracle's discontinuation of software support for HP's Itanium-based line of mission-critical servers... shared equally between HP and HPE..."

"...transfer of certain pension obligations as part of an irrevocable group annuity contract with The Prudential Insurance Company of America."

https://investor.hp.com/financials/sec-filings/sec-filings-details/default.aspx?FilingId=15376597

Specifically, "Our pension and other post-retirement benefit costs and obligations depend on various assumptions. Our major assumptions relate primarily to discount rates, mortality rates, expected increases in compensation levels and the expected long-term return on plan assets....In August 2021, HP entered into an agreement with The Prudential Insurance Company of America to purchase an irrevocable group annuity contract and transfer approximately $5.2 billion of the Pension Plan obligations. Under the agreement, Prudential assumed responsibility for pension benefits and annuity administration for approximately 41,000 retirees and beneficiaries, with no changes to the amount or timing of monthly retirement benefit payments. This transaction... was funded by the assets of the Pension Plan... with no cash flow impact." 2021 HP Inc Annual Report

"By purchasing a group annuity contract, we are moving the responsibility of providing your pension benefit to a company that manages the financial risks associated with annuity payments on a larger scale and as part of their core business. The annuity purchase also helps HP reduce our long-term pension obligations and related financial
volatility and administrative demands, while continuing to meet the needs of our employees, past and
present." HP pension benefits transition notice

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