FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2008
Contact: Christa Schofield (517) 853-2365

LANSING, Mich.: The Mid-America Pension Rights Project has discovered that more than 70 former employees of the now-defunct Republic Buildings Corporation (RBC) have pensions waiting for them. The Project made the discovery when it successfully located an RBC pension worth more than $75,000 for John B. Grot. Grot, who retired from the company in the mid-1980s, knew that he had earned a pension, but did not know how to claim it. Attorneys at the Mid-America Pension Rights Project were able to locate his pension and may be able to help other RBC workers find their own "lost" pensions.

"I knew my pension was out there; I just didn't know where it was," Mr. Grot said. "The staff at the Mid-America Pension Rights Project knew exactly what to do to find it. Thanks to them, I am now receiving an additional $320 per month. With the economy the way it is, every little bit counts."

Mr. Grot, who now lives in Georgia, lost track of his pension because the Van Wert-based RBC, a subsidiary of Republic Steel, changed hands multiple times after he left the company. Corporate mergers and acquisitions can often cause problems for former workers when it comes time for them to claim their pensions. And it appears that Mr. Grot is not the only person who is owed pension money.

"During our investigation, it became clear that there are dozens of other former RBC employees who are in the same situation as Mr. Grot," said Christa Schofield of the Mid-America Pension Rights Project. "The challenge is finding these people and letting them know that a pension is waiting for them." Schofield encouraged people who think they earned a pension from Republic
Buildings Corporation to contact the Project at 1-866-735-7737.

The Mid-America Pension Rights Project receives funds from the U.S. Administration on Aging to serve individuals in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. The Project finds pensions "misplaced" due to mergers, relocation, or bankruptcy. Project attorneys give advice about basic pension law and pension rights to employees, their spouses, ex-spouses, and survivors, and may investigate pension denials. Since its inception, the Mid-America Pension Rights Project has recovered more than $20 million in pension assets. For more information about the Mid-America Pension Rights Project, visit www.mid-americapensions.org.