Streza v. Southern Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Pension Plan

## Pension Dispute Dismissed for Skipping Required Steps Maria Streza sued her union's pension plan, claiming they wrongfully denied her pension benefits and misled her about her benefits. She accused the Southern Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Pension Plan of breaking their contract with her and not properly managing her retirement funds. The court dismissed Streza's entire case and ruled she cannot refile it. The judge found that Streza had not followed the required process before going to court. Under federal retirement law (ERISA), workers must first go through their pension plan's internal complaint process and exhaust all administrative appeals before they can sue in federal court. Since Streza skipped these mandatory steps and went straight to court, the judge threw out her case completely. **What this means for workers:** If you have problems with your pension or retirement benefits, you cannot immediately file a lawsuit. You must first file complaints and appeals through your pension plan's internal process and see those through to the end. Only after exhausting these administrative remedies can you take your case to federal court. Jumping straight to a lawsuit will likely result in your case being dismissed.