Pension Attorney in New Jersey — Protecting Your Retirement Benefits

Your pension is one of the most valuable benefits you have earned over a career of hard work. When an employer, plan administrator, or government agency threatens that benefit — through a denial, a miscalculation, a forfeiture proceeding, or an outright refusal to pay — you need an attorney who understands the full complexity of pension law in New Jersey.

At The López Firm, attorney Omar A. López brings a perspective that few pension attorneys in NJ can offer: he spent years as labor counsel for two AFL-CIO union locals, handling pension disputes on behalf of workers from the inside. That experience gives him a distinct advantage in understanding how pension systems work — and how to fight them when they fail their participants.

Private Sector Pension Disputes Under ERISA

Most private sector pension plans are governed by ERISA. If you participate in a defined benefit pension plan, a cash balance plan, or a multiemployer pension fund through your union, ERISA controls your rights, your appeal process, and your ability to litigate if your benefits are denied or miscalculated.

Common private sector pension disputes include benefit denials at the time of retirement, disagreements over years of credited service, benefit calculation errors, vesting disputes, and claims related to plan amendments or terminations that reduce participant benefits. The López Firm represents employees and retirees in ERISA pension claims at both the administrative appeal stage and in federal court.

Public Employee Pension Disputes in New Jersey

New Jersey public employees — including state workers, county and municipal employees, police officers, firefighters, and teachers — participate in pension systems administered by the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits. These plans are not governed by ERISA but by New Jersey state law. The disputes that arise in these systems can be just as complex and just as consequential.

As a public employee pension lawyer in NJ, Omar A. López represents government workers facing benefit denials, service credit disputes, disability retirement determinations, and enrollment issues across New Jersey's public pension systems.

Honorable Service Forfeiture — Defending Your Pension

New Jersey law allows the state to forfeit the pension benefits of a public employee who is convicted of certain crimes related to their public employment. This is known as honorable service forfeiture, and it can strip a public employee — and their family — of retirement income they spent an entire career earning.

Forfeiture is not automatic, and it is not always appropriate. The López Firm represents public employees facing forfeiture proceedings, challenging the application of the forfeiture statute, contesting the underlying facts, and advocating for pension protection wherever the law allows.

If you are a public employee facing a pension forfeiture proceeding, do not wait to seek legal counsel. The stakes are too high to navigate this process alone.

Frequently Asked Questions about Pensions

  • Errors in pension benefit calculations are more common than most retirees realize. These errors can stem from incorrect service credit records, misapplication of benefit formulas, failure to account for salary adjustments or overtime, and administrative mistakes that go undetected for years.

  • You have the right to request a detailed explanation of how your pension benefit was calculated. If something doesn't look right, a pension dispute lawyer in New Jersey can review the calculation, identify the error, and pursue the correct benefit amount through the appropriate legal channels.

  • You can reach us anytime via our contact page or email. We aim to respond quickly—usually within one business day.