‘Treated me like an insignificant cockroach’: JPMorgan Chase denies NY widow her husband’s $53K pension pot
When her husband Melvyn Silverberg passed away suddenly in 1988 at age 43 from multiple organ failure, Elaine was just 37 and left to raise three children on her own. The largest bank in country, which reported $12.9 billion in profits last quarter, has denied her the pension claiming she lacks “necessary documentation.”
Now after sitting untouched for more than 35 years, the unpaid amount has grown to $53,000, according to the New York Post report.
“You would think the bank would want to do the right thing. They have treated me like an insignificant cockroach just to be stepped on,” she told the outlet. “If Jamie Dimon were aware of this, he would wish to do the right thing and honor the pension.”
JPMorgan Chase remains firm in their stance. “While we sympathize with Mrs. Silverberg, she is asking us to pay without necessary documentation,” a spokesperson said to the New York Post “We follow the terms of our pension plan that would not permit individual exceptions.”
But does the bank have the right to withhold her husband’s pension? Here’s what you need to know to avoid facing a similar battle.
For more information see Victoria Vesovski, “‘Treated me like an insignificant cockroach’: JPMorgan Chase denies NY widow her husband’s $53K pension pot” Yahoo Finance, November 8, 2024.
Special thanks to Naomi Cahn (University of Virginia School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.