I was a Citibank employee for 21 years and last January I had to go on disability due to degenerative disc disease. I currently have my daughter living with me due to anxiety problems, my 2 grandchildren. Also living with me I have a younger daughter in college and my wife, who has been unemployed for over a year.in an attempt to save my home from foreclosure I decided to retire and take my pension in lump sum. I contacted Hewitt Associates in December ‘09 and informed them that I wish to retire. They informed me that as long as the paper work was completed and received back by 1/05/10 I would have my funds on 2/01/10. I was told an advocate would contact me to assist. Well the advocate called twice and left a message both times but not a contact number. When I called the 1-800-connect1 number I was told by the customer service folks at Hewitt that they were not permitted to switch calls to the advocates or give out their phone number. The customer service reps, including the manager attempted to assist and we set everything up so that I would receive the funds on 2/01/10. I then made an arrangement with my mortgage holder to pay a certain amount on 2/01/10 towards my mortgage and then they would modify. When the mail came on 2/01/10 there was no check. I contacted Hewitt and they agreed I should have received the funds but the system did not generate them. I was told that an inquiry would be entered and I would be updated in about 5 business days, because they marked it “URGENT”. I requested to speak to i, the manager, and after being on hold for about 15 minutes the same customer rep just picked up the phone and reiterated that it would take 5 business days for an update. I requested to talk to the AVP in charge of the section and was told that they are not permitted to give that information out. Although the customer reps were polite and attentive the point was not getting across. I needed the funds on 2/01/10. They agree the funds should have been allocated. I called 2/02/10 to get an update and was told that the inquiry has not even been worked on at this time. I guess the POINT was still not coming across. After contacting the CEO of Hewitt and speaking with his assistant I was contacted by one of their Orlando office investigators. She told me she would take care of the matter. About 3 hours later she contacted me and stated that they never got the release from Citicorp needed to release the funds. She contacted Citicorp human resources to see if they could rush this to them and they said they would not. They could not give me a name of the person, just Citicorp HR. They could not give me a reason. These are my funds, my pension. I am now being told I have to wait until 3/01/10 even though it was Hewitt Associates mistake. And what happens if I don’t receive the funds on 3/01/10? Do I start this all over again? The check I provided to my mortgage company bounced yesterday. I can only think the foreclosure will now be filled. I would advise anyone with a pension, or 401k, in Hewitt Associates to get their money out, if you can. And I would not trust in a company such as Citibank who would use such a company as Hewitt for their employees nor would they assist in solving the problem for a former employee, now retired.
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