The National Pension Assistance Resource Center is working to create a nationwide network of counseling and information services to ensure that everyone with a pension or retirement savings question or problem will have a place to go for help. “National PARC” consists of two interrelated components.
The Technical Assistance Project (TAP) provides legal training and day-to-day legal and operational advice to the regional Pension Information and Counseling Projects that provide hands-on assistance to individuals who have questions about their pensions. The Counseling Projects are authorized by Congress under the Older Americans Act, and are primarily supported by grants from the U.S. Administration on Aging. TAP’s services are also offered to State and Area Agencies on Aging, Legal Services for the Elderly, and to the private attorneys as appropriate.
National PARC’s most far-reaching initiative is the PensionHelp America web site now under development. PensionHelp America will serve as a nationwide information and referral service for participants in all of the major retirement systems regulated by federal and state laws. Its primary services will include online referral, connecting users to no-cost pension assistance providers such as the AoA’s pension counseling projects and pension-related government agencies; and an electronic clearinghouse of web-based pension-related printed information.
National PARC has also developed a unique database designed specifically for penson issues, the Pension Assistance Information Database. PAID is used by the pension counseling projects for intake, case management, and reporting purposes.
National PARC activities are supported by grants from the U.S. Administration on Aging, the Retirement Research Foundation, and The Atlantic Philanthropies. The Administration on Aging also funds the National Education and Resource Center on Women and Retirement Planning (WISER).
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