CJ
Member
Is that the case here?
Pensions
- Thread starter JcMack
- Start date
Is that the case here?
No one on this Forum, speaks with the honesty and humility as does Merril, no one. My .02.
feralmerril
Absent Comrade
Gulp, I dont know what to say mike, except thanks! Dick, when you worked for bell in california, did you know Ed Ford? As I understand it he was the top field engineer in southern california and retired about 25 years ago. He was a very close friend of mine. He died last summer and his wife came by us a few days to get away.
BarbC
Member
My cynical view is that government health care will take care of the pension problem.
feralmerril
Absent Comrade
Probley had I stayed in california my wifes insurance would have stayed almost the same. Last december the company wrote me her insurance company was no longer a option in utah and the only option for her was attna. It more than doubled!
The day I turned in my uniform they had a new head hunter giveing a speach in a hanger to all the employees. I walked over and listend. It was the most heartless threating cold speach I heard in my life and in my 35 years at lockheed! I felt odd! I was now no longer a guard and had I not retired probley would have been haveing to guard this AH! I was almost hopeing some hot heads would have attacked him, there was a lot of dissent and hollering but everyone behaved themselves.
Many years ago there was another head hunter named archie fullden who gave a similar speach and some guys broke one of his legs and threw him off the dock into the ocean, I heard!
The day I turned in my uniform they had a new head hunter giveing a speach in a hanger to all the employees. I walked over and listend. It was the most heartless threating cold speach I heard in my life and in my 35 years at lockheed! I felt odd! I was now no longer a guard and had I not retired probley would have been haveing to guard this AH! I was almost hopeing some hot heads would have attacked him, there was a lot of dissent and hollering but everyone behaved themselves.
Many years ago there was another head hunter named archie fullden who gave a similar speach and some guys broke one of his legs and threw him off the dock into the ocean, I heard!
OP
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2009
- Messages
- 6,325
- Reaction score
- 6,472
- City & State/Province
- Deepest, darkest, Indiana
Merril: I can relate. I worked 35 yrs. as an FE for a World wide business machine company. (not IBM) I was with that company for 20 yrs before I started making real money (even by todays standards). Since the pay was no where near the wage levels of the tradesmen and millworkers around here the lure of the job was some perks like the pension. My then gold digger wife was always doggin me to change jobs. Thankfully she bailed on me at 8 yrs into the marraige and I took my son and raised him by myself. Years later my son was launched, and had a good job, when I was offered an early out from my job that had turned into a 7X24 support nightmare. Original partial pension included complete med benefits for $14 a month. Over the last ten years benefit costs to me have gone from $14 to $360 a month and coverage is terrible. I took SS at 62 a year ago and between SS, the pension, and working part time I'm barely eeking by. Now it appears the part time job will cease, and the pension may be in peril. Yesterday I watched our president refer to SS and Medicare as entitlement programs.
JamesSion
Member
I am also retired. Like someone else posted I took a lump sum one time payment. Will I make better investment decisions than my former employer? I sure hope so.
When I was younger and had some involvement in how pensions were funded we were taught that fixed benefit pensions were to be funded with high grade single bond purchases so the money would definitely be there when needed and the return would be known.
When regulation or prudence relaxed and the equities markets heated up companies began to invest all or part of their pension funds in stocks so some years would have to make little or no contribution to fund the pension plan since the run up in stock values would show it was adequately funded. We all know what happened then.
When I was younger and had some involvement in how pensions were funded we were taught that fixed benefit pensions were to be funded with high grade single bond purchases so the money would definitely be there when needed and the return would be known.
When regulation or prudence relaxed and the equities markets heated up companies began to invest all or part of their pension funds in stocks so some years would have to make little or no contribution to fund the pension plan since the run up in stock values would show it was adequately funded. We all know what happened then.
Similar threads
