Today we are launching this website in honor of our mom, Kim DiNicola.

Kim DiNicola (Fleming) was a Vanguard crew member for over 20 years. 

When our mom joined Vanguard, she was a young, single mother, with three kids. We didn't have much, but she was determined to create a better life for herself and her family. 

Over the course of 20+ years she worked her way up from a new crew member, to a manager, and leader. Excelling in project management, she oversaw the rollout of new technology and website infrastructure at Vanguard's main campus in Malvern, Pennsylvania.  

She also helped organize the GETT committee (Girls Exploring Tomorrow's Technology) at Vanguard, empowering girls and encouraging them to persue careers in technology and STEM.  

Kim pictured background right in light blazer. 

In her "spare time", our mom earned a Masters Degree in Business (MBA), ran multiple Marine Corps marathons, rode an annual 60 mile bike race to the Jersey shore to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research, mowed the lawn, and raised three kids.

And then one day, following her very first, routine screening, our mom was diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

It would be easy to say on that day everything changed for her, but her life never worked like that. She was just too positive to let something like cancer stop her.  

For the next 6+ years, our mom continued to work for Vanguard, now fighting cancer during off-work hours, with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, and multiple surgeries.

To say that our mom fought back against cancer would be an understatement.

Her fight made the movie Rocky look like a romantic comedy.  

As her disease progressed, treatment options dwindled and she reached a point where she just physically couldn’t work anymore because of her illness.

Kim with her late husband and soulmate Robert DiNicola. Robert passed away in January of 2023, without seeing a resolution to our case.

Her last year, she spent the majority the little energy she still had getting her affairs in order and trying to stay positive through frequent phone calls with friends, family, and of course, her children.  

A page from the journal our mom would keep. She writes: "Work sent me a card with everyone signing it. Bottom line people actually miss my positiveness & cheerfulness, What a GREAT DAY!"

She organized her documents, consolidated accounts, started send us specific photos or items she wanted us to have, and confirmed multiple times, that her life insurance with Vanguard was in place. 

As a family, we all made important decisions based on that information, believing it to be accurate, and true.   

Then, on October 18th, 2021 at the age of 59, our mom passed away.

An incredible tribute that one of her best friends posted shortly after her passing:

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After her passing, the executor of her estate promptly filed the required documents to her insurance company. We were initially told that everything was in order and that the benefits from her Vanguard group policy would be processed shortly.

However days, and then weeks passed.

One day, we received a letter in the mail from a company that claimed to be handling her life insurance policy.  

The letter, was to inform us that they would not be honoring her group policy through Vanguard. Instead they would be issuing a payment for less than 1/16th the amount of this policy because of a "clerical error" made on their behalf. 

Yes, less than 1/16th the amount. 

We won't dwell on the exact details in this post, for the sake our sanity, and yours, but if you're super interested, their exact "reasoning" is all outlined in public court filings. 

Fast forward to nearly three years later, a 29 page lawsuit, and hundreds of pages of legal paperwork filed.  We are still struggling to collect her death benefits from Vanguard and Minnesota Life.  

We think back to the last year of our mom's life - her sitting at home, getting her affairs in order, while selflessly facing her own mortality.  

She called multiple times to confirm that her life insurance was in effect, requested and received multiple confirmation letters, and even submitted a physical examination report from her doctor that was approved by the life insurance company.  

In our opinion, she could have called both Vanguard and Minnesota Life, the day before she died, and they would have again confirmed that her policy was in effect.  

Now, we believe that all of her hard work and due diligence is essentially being taken away from her. 

Unfortunately, our mom doesn't share this privilege of hindsight. She can't retroactively make adjustments or changes to her planning and estate, regardless of it they would be warranted or not.  

Some people ask us, if you could talk to the CEO of Vanguard directly, what would you say...

We would ask him to fulfill the promise they made to our mom over the course of her 20+ years of employment at Vanguard, and in the last letter she received about her benefits before her death.  

We would ask him to lead by the example our mom set at Vanguard, working every day to build a better company.  

And finally, we would ask him to do the right thing. 

As her children, we want closure and a fair resolution that fulfills the promise they made to her.

For now though, we continue to deal with legal filings, denials, and a blame game between two large companies that have yet to take responsibility for their actions.  

With that said, as the children of a single mom of three, who raised three kids, who worked her way up at a large company, who stayed positive until the very end, we also carry an immense amount of positivity, pride, and most importantly, persistence.  

So, in the meantime, we will lead by example, using this site to provide transparency, and continue to share our experience with Vanguard, Minnesota Life, and ERISA (a 50-year-old law, originally designed to protect employees).

Hopefully this can help other families or individuals who may be facing a similar situation, proving inspiration, hope, and a sense of community.

Our mom, Kim DiNicola, wasn't just a great employee for Vanguard, she was one of their best employees and an incredible human being who we can all learn from.  

Over the course of her 20+ year career, and up until the day she died, she completely fulfilled her promises and obligations as a loyal crew member and employee, who was always willing to step up and do more, work harder, and make thing better for everyone around her.  

Now it's time for Vanguard to learn from her example, and fulfill their promise to her.

🙏 Thank you so much for reading, and if you want to help, please like and share our story.  You can also follow @KimsBenefits on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

- Kim's Family