'I panicked': Ontario man fears the worst when pension goes missing
CTV
An Ontario man feared the worst after he was told there was no record of his 20-year pension when he went to collect it.
An Ontario man feared the worst after he was told there was no record of his 20-year pension when he went to collect it.
"I was panicking. There is a fear when someone tells you - you don't exist," said Ihor Weryha of Mississauga.
Weryha worked at a company for 20 years that had a defined benefit pension plan. When he was 45 years old, Weryha switched jobs and told the company's pension division he only wanted to collect his pension when he turned 65.
Last year, he retired. Weryha said he can still recall his frustration as he tried to collect his pension and was told there was no record of it.
"They said, 'We don't have you on our records; we don't have you on our books,'" said Weryha.
After five frustrating months trying to collect it on his own, Weryha reached out to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), which works on behalf of pension beneficiaries, and they helped him track down his retirement funds.
"Just getting this resolved was a major relief, to say the least," said Weryha.
