Great-West, Greg Whitten & The Rainmaker

What do Great-West Financial, Greg Whitten &  The Rainmaker have in common?

What do Great-West Financial, Greg Whitten & The Rainmaker have in common?

We read with almost disbelief the investigation covered by our sister blog, the U.S. Watchdogs. This investigation described how Billionaire Greg Whitten et al. and his retirement document-keeper, the second largest in the country, Great-West Financial et al., in a move reminiscent of the movie, The Rainmaker, denied paying a retirement claim to a heart failure victim on Social Security.

If we can be denied our pensions, 401K and profit sharing by rich and powerful friends of Obama, what has become of the United States? While this  story should be of interest to everyone, it is a must-read if you’re retired or getting prepared for retirement.

Be sure to see parts II and III to this story

Billionaire Greg Whitten formally of Microsoft, no of Proximation LLC.

Greg Whitten

11 Microsoft Employees

11 Microsoft Employees

Player #1: Billionaire Greg Whitten, claimed, as reported by the U.S. Watchdogs, to have been the 11th employee at Microsoft. There seems to be two sides when it comes to his history with Microsoft. One, his apparent wish to be associated with it: part of the U.S. Watchdogs’ story mentions a picture of the 11 Microsoft employees, which included a teenage-looking Bill Gates, pinned on his door at Proximation. (We looked at the picture of those 11 employees and can’t seem to see Whitten. Can you?).  And two, his seeming desire to get out from under its shadow: it was reported in the U.S. Watchdogs’ story that Whitten may have been the subject of office rumors that he only obtained his fortune because of his association with Bill Gates. (We only wish we all could have such a problem). Whitten’s company, Proximation, for all intents and purpose was merged into Numerix where Whitten made a very public investment of $32 million dollars. We refer to Greg Whitten, Proximation LLC and Numerix LLC, as Whitten et al.

Player #2: Great-West Financial. Great-West Financial’s CEO, Robert Reynolds came from a Boston Company, Putnam Investments. According to the Boston Globe, Robert Reynolds, “is sitting atop a newly merged group of companies that is the second-largest 401(k) retirement plan adminstrator in the country”.

Robert Reynolds, Great-West Financial CEO

Robert Reynolds, Great-West Financial CEO

What we found very scary is that this monumental retirement company, with their focus on their Empower Retirement program, is affecting millions of Americans and Canadians. If their employees, who administer our retirement plans, can deny a retirement payment pretty much off the cuff, without consideration of the facts, where does that leave the rest of us? According to the U.S. Watchdogs’ story, Marilyn Bartelme, a Compliance Specialist of Great-West Financial et al., did just that by denying the Retiree’s claim in, what seemed to us, an offhand way. The facts of the case appear undeniable and crystal clear, the Retiree of the story was owed the money. It would have been impossible for us, after reviewing the documents, to have come to any other conclusion. It’s our feeling that Ms. Bartelme appeared to have given the Whitten Group the answer they wanted, not the facts of the case.

As many of us baby boomers are reaching retirement age, what will happen to us? Worst of all, our Retiree was not black, so any help from Eric Holder’s Justice Department or the Obama Administration, just won’t be coming.

We should all be taking a very close look into our retirement plans and who is administrating them. If you’re retired, about to retire or looking into retirement plans, this U.S. Watchdogs story is a must-read. Remember, caveat emptor, let the buyer beware.

Read the full story at the U.S. WatchdogsGreg Whitten, Great-West Assurance: The Rainmaker Revisited?

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