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Old 07-17-2018, 02:52 PM   #21
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The perks I miss most in retirement are:
o the company gym
o a very good on-site health services - cheap xrays, physicals, medical massages, ...
o a really good CDP rate for rental cars that was allowed to be used for personal use as well
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Old 07-17-2018, 03:02 PM   #22
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Our agency was under a lot of intense scrutiny, constantly, so we had to scrupulously avoid the appearance of wrongdoing. The perks I can remember are:

1) At conferences, we could have coffee/snacks provided by non-governmental hosts of the conference, as long as the value was under $6. If every attendee got dinner and it was specifically paid for by the government at a specific amount as part of the conference fees, we could eat dinner (but this was tricky if we didn't have written proof, so we often just bowed out). We could never let any industry folks buy dinner for us individually, or take us to play golf or anything like that. Seriously, we had one guy taken off in handcuffs from work for doing that.

2) At trade shows, we sometimes got a free pen or keyring or something like that at various booths, if they were given free to every attendee.

3) When traveling we got a per diem, so if I spent less on meals I could pocket the rest once they gave it to me.

4) We got free flu shots at work. All we had to do was go down to the conference room and stand in line, and that was on work time, not on our own time.

5) One year on "Employee Appreciation Day", upper management gave every employee a free polo shirt with the agency name printed on it. They got in trouble for doing that, so never again. I still have mine.
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Old 07-17-2018, 03:03 PM   #23
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1. First class travel.
2. $1400 monthly car allowance.
3. Umbrella insurance policy.
4. Company paid apartment and car at location I needed to be at three to four weeks a month.
5. Car service instead of taxis.
6. Event tickets.
7. Cell phone and service.
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Your best W*rk related PERKS!
Old 07-17-2018, 03:08 PM   #24
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Your best W*rk related PERKS!

I worked for Fotomat for a couple years. First, part time as a Fotomate in a kiosk and then later in the district offices. All the stores would turn in their expired film and our office would log it for credit. Then it was to be disposed of but us office staff could have it if we wanted it. DH and I were into collecting old cameras at the time so I had a steady supply of very usable film, 35mm, 120, 220, etc and also plenty of Polaroid. Kept in the refrigerator, these lasted a long time.
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Old 07-17-2018, 04:04 PM   #25
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I have to admit that after making this list, I was surprised at how many nice perqs there were. Almost makes me want to go back to work...NOT!

1. BC/FC international travel & occasional company private jet travel
2. Profit sharing
3. Occasional use of company luxury private residences (West Coast & East Coast)
4. Company paid golf trips
5. Annual Senior Mgt retreats
6. Retention of all points from work-travel CC purchases
7. Frequent lodging in 5-star accommodations
8. Company paid life insurance
9. Generous expense fund @ my discretion for employee/team functions
10. Company funded housing on many assignments
11. Occasional company provided auto
12. Reimbursed Bus/Grad School
13. Very generous 401k match
14. Small DB pension
15. Pretty high-end service awards
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Old 07-17-2018, 04:32 PM   #26
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I was not a high level employee but since I agreed to do some work overseas I will put down the one that I liked the most...


Free housing... I had an apartment in the center of London... within walking distance to the Queen... this lead to me traveling around the UK and some parts of Europe for the 14 months I was there... I still had my house so it was not a big money maker...


Then, more free housing... after that assignment they requested me to go to NYC, so had a nice apt in Manhattan where I could walk to work... enjoyed the life experience living in NYC and not having to pay for housing... But, 9-11 happened and I was the buildings come down out my window... they moved work over to Jersey and eventually moved me to the upper West side... that was very interesting...


This was cheating a bit, but my boss agreed to do it... I was able to fly home once a month... but if I found a ticket somewhere else that was cheaper than my ticket home she approved the costs.... so I flew to Europe a few times on long weekend holidays...


BTW, never made a lot of money while doing this, but I did have fun....
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Old 07-17-2018, 05:43 PM   #27
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6 week extra “sabatical’ vacation every 5 years
Work remotely for 10 years
Company paid shut down 10 days over xmas/New Years and week of 4th of July
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Old 07-17-2018, 05:55 PM   #28
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Free coffee. Except they kept changing coffee vendors in search of the crappiest coffee... (We, including my director, formed a coffee club where we took turns bringing in decent coffee beans and brewing it outside the break room.... the break room coffee was that bad!)

Got to use the corporate box seats for a Flyers game and for a Sixers game. They had a policy that if they weren't using the seats for customers, employees who had tickets to the game could ask to sit in the box.... Unfortunately, I never was able to get the access on games I went to with my husband... and somehow the HR Veep and his kids were sitting there. The games I did get to sit in the box were part of group rewards for meeting a deadline or testifying in an arbitration.

Used to get really nice holiday parties with booze, live music, at a fancy hotel. That went away and my department replaced it with a potluck lunch party.

Used to get a nice family oriented picnic each summer at the zoo, sea world, or some other fun place... that got replaced with an employee only barbeque.

(I suspected they didn't like employees meeting the families of their coworkers because they were trying to dehumanize us.)

Perks were pretty non-existent when I retired.
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Old 07-17-2018, 06:08 PM   #29
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A unique perc no one else can match, was tons of house coal at cost, but I had to provide a truck to accept delivery.

I did receive RSU's and four rounds of options which doubled twice for stock splits.

Before there were 401ks, we had an investment plan that would match us 100% dollar for dollar, up to 6%. I contributed 25% of my pay since day 1, and never looked back. Once the dollar limits were established in 401ks, we maxed them out every year.

25 days vacation after 25 years, work 22 out of 28 days.
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Old 07-17-2018, 06:13 PM   #30
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Profit sharing, stock options
DW worked at university so DD got 50% off tuition for 4 undergrad yrs. at
any college/university. After retiring DW took job at airline . Retirees retain flying privileges on mother airline/discounted flights on other airlines/ and discounts at some hotels.
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Old 07-17-2018, 06:15 PM   #31
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Maybe not exactly a perk but definitely a benefit of the position...
I worked out of a satellite office servicing the company's far-flung clients. So my supervisor was located in an office about 100 miles away. I saw her maybe twice a year.
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Old 07-17-2018, 06:22 PM   #32
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Last full time "real" job - I bought my ez tags but they paid all the tolls whether for commute, client visit, or personal.

Current part time "retirement" job - my mom & I fly standby for free (if domestic; pay only taxes for international) on my airline & big discount on many other airlines. Since I'm single I can designate 1 person a year who also has standby flight privileges on my airline. Big discount with FedEx.
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Old 07-17-2018, 06:39 PM   #33
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When I was in the financial biz I got plenty of nice perks, trips, free booze, fancy dinners, etc.

However, the best perk I had was back when I was in college (1977) I spent the summer working for a major personal/household goods company. We got "bucks" for participating in quick trials of products (i.e. types of scents, looking at marketing ideas). Since I had long hair at the time (not colored or permed) I got my hair washed a lot and treated with new shampoo formulations. For that I got mucho "bucks".

With the "bucks" you could go to the company store and purchase soap, shampoo, toothpaste, tissues, laundry detergent and the like. I did not purchase laundry detergent again until my senior year of college. I still had soap and toothpaste when I moved to my first job.

There were fancier perks over the years, but nothing like all of the products that I did not have to purchase the rest of my years in college.
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Old 07-17-2018, 07:09 PM   #34
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Here's a few from my first career...

International travel with conflict resolution opportunities

Weight control program (overweight? don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya)

Free daily workouts on company time with twice yearly assessments. Assessment not good? (see weight control)

Free use of a slightly used rifle (with a grenade launcher) and all the ammo you want. But ya gotta carry it everywhere, including the shitter and the shower, as well as the fart sack (sleeping bag).

Long term contracts- for them, maybe not for you. In fact, if involved in that whole "conflict resolution" stuff, your contract can be involuntarily extended indefinitely. I "enjoyed" a three year extension after 9-11.**

Free food. Often in an outdoor setting. Way, way outdoors. I was amazed at what mashed potatoes do in a downpour.

Getting paid to jump out of helicopters while getting paid to stay in the same damn chopper! (jump status while also crew status).

Best perk of all? Saluting the American flag at reveille and at retreat each day. Unlike the others listed, this one was one perk that was a solemn honor as well as a promise to the nation.

**but was honored to help carry the fight to the enemy


There is an old army adage that, "a soldier ain't happy unless he's bitching." I'm just bitching.
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Old 07-17-2018, 07:41 PM   #35
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Road Warriors. Did you pick up the soap? Mrs Scrapr brought a couple zip lock bags of soap to our marriage
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Old 07-17-2018, 07:54 PM   #36
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Road Warriors. Did you pick up the soap? Mrs Scrapr brought a couple zip lock bags of soap to our marriage
I picked up hotel soap and shampoo for years. My two young daughters at the time loved it. I still have a bunch somewhere in the bathroom cabinet.
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Old 07-17-2018, 08:07 PM   #37
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Road Warriors. Did you pick up the soap? Mrs Scrapr brought a couple zip lock bags of soap to our marriage
I collected them maniacally and gave them to a local veterans' home. Often, when the housekeepers learned of my motives, they became unindicted co conspirators!

Belated thanks to Marriott, Hilton, and IHG.
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Old 07-17-2018, 08:18 PM   #38
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- Fully paid MBA
- Company car with everything covered
- 2x/yr retreats to various locations (part work, part fun)
- the ability to take key customers to just about any imaginable sporting event (Masters, America’s Cup, Super Bowl, etc.)
- Generous T & E account
- Private, big-name entertainment (many of my favorite bands in a very small venue)
- and last but not least, full use of every imaginable piece of technical equipment from room full of servers to drones (this is what I miss the most)

That said, retirement is the best!
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Old 07-17-2018, 09:02 PM   #39
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Coming from a poor family (but apparently NOT poor enough to qualify for financial aid, nor smart enough to qualify for scholarships! Haha) I was blessed to get a job at a bank out of high school that offered tuition reimbursement. So I got my bachelor's degree paid for, but it did require working at least 30 hours per week.
A later job also offered tuition reimbursement, so I was able to get my MBA.
Currently serve as the Treasurer for a large school district, and although the pay isn't great there is a lot a leave time given (25 vacation days and 12 sick days per year).
My next "j*b" however, will provide unlimited leave time options!
Can't get here soon enough!
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Old 07-17-2018, 09:15 PM   #40
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Received shares of company stock whose value grew by 3000% by the time I left. Cashing it out has funded much of my retirement.


50%, then 75% company match on the 401k.


75% of group health insurance premiums (reduced to 50% when I worked part-time)


Finally joined the TransitChek program in 2001 which made much of my commuting costs tax deductible.


Killed the dress code in 1998, no more jacket and tie.


They let me work mostly from home for a few years which included some added PC security at no charge.
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