Rolling with the punches -- new benefits cuts from MegaCorp

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldbabe Or do they care at all? The answer is, No.

population is dense enough and there's enough automation that they no longer have to care. also much goes back to the circa 1990s ivy league business theory of "crap plus one". before that, when i enjoyed my job, we put out the best product we possibly could. but companies realized they didn't need to "over-utilize" overpaid "resources" to beat competition. they didn't have to be 10x's better to win. if the competition was crappy, then all the best has to do to win is crap plus one.

so to maximize profits you don't try to get as good as you can. instead you try to be as crappy as you can while still being slightly less crappy than your competition. the only real downside, of course, is that it tends to put morale in the, um, crapper.

[jazz4cash]

We're going through this also. I work in a very successful division of struggling MegaCorp........so they decided to sell us off as we are not a "core" business. It seems to us that maybe they are amputating the healthy leg..........and maby decisions such as this are why MegaCorp is struggling all these years. Anyway, our pensions would still be tied to mother MegaCorp, so if they go down the tubes we're still screwed.

Last year they cut pensions by 20% which took the DBP from "generous" to decent. Now with this sale, I'll be one yr short of qualifying for retiree medical. Each cut seems not to bad as I always consider "it coulda been much worse"..........well it's the NEXT cut that ya gotta worry about. Reminds me of the joke about "how to boil a frog?"

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Quote:

I really suspected that I would miss out on the subsidized retiree benefits because of the changes both in our company as well as the other Mega Corps around us. Really, I had accepted that. So I'm surprised that I feel a pang of loss anyway. Perhaps a secretly harbored hope was still in there?

It is better to have this happen while you are still young. Imagine those who had their benefits terminated after they were retired.

[Linney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy It is better to have this happen while you are still young. Imagine those who had their benefits terminated after they were retired.

Those already retired from our MegaCorp didn't have their benefits cut . . . at least not yet. I've heard of plenty of other MegaCorps that have cut retiree health benefits even for those already retired. Scary. Another good reason for us 40 year olds to treat this benefit like Social Security -- nice to have, but don't count on it.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Get your HSA while you can!

[kjpliny]

I started at my company 15 years ago...I was only there for about 3 years when they got rid of the defined benefit pension and replaced it with a cash balance plan. There was basically no conversion of funds for me as I was new and at a very low salary. Maybe my cash balance amount was $1k or so at the time.

What's scarey is that after 15 years, I just received my annual cash balance pension statement and there's only $21k in it. They add 3% of my salary per year. Next year that will go up to 4%. Peanuts.

Thank goodness I've been maxing out my 401k...without that, I'd have to work forever. My wife will receive a generous DB pension when she turns 55, at which time I'll be 57. Hopefully I won't have to work that long though.

[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjpliny I started at my company 15 years ago...I was only there for about 3 years when they got rid of the defined benefit pension and replaced it with a cash balance plan. There was basically no conversion of funds for me as I was new and at a very low salary. Maybe my cash balance amount was $1k or so at the time. What's scarey is that after 15 years, I just received my annual cash balance pension statement and there's only $21k in it. They add 3% of my salary per year. Next year that will go up to 4%. Peanuts. Thank goodness I've been maxing out my 401k...without that, I'd have to work forever. My wife will receive a generous DB pension when she turns 55, at which time I'll be 57. Hopefully I won't have to work that long though.

As they have transitioned away from DBP, my company has grandfathered our retirement plans over the years, so we now have three different plans depending on your hire-in date. The newer guys have the cash balance plan using the 401k. I accidentally clinked the wrong hire-in date on the pension estimator one time, and I was shocked to see how small the payouts under these plans can be. I felt really lucky to have kept a watered down DBP (so far) plus 401k w/ measly match. Since then, I have descreetly pulled several younger co-workers aside to urge them to max out if possible. All responsibility is shifting away from the Mega Corps.

[bssc]

April Fools Day is when our MegaCorp is going to switch over to a new plan. Anyone hired after it will not get the additional plan "conversion contribution."

[Lazarus]

For younger people, why work at a Megacorp? If there is no security and no good benefits?

I will have a pension, although it has been downsized by a buyout by another company. Good thing I have a 401. The pension would not be enough for me.

[bssc]

I work for a MegaCorp since I am not very good at working on my own and three of the smaller companies I worked for ran out of money and at least one ran off with the 401(k) money.

MegaCorp may be cutting back on benefits but it, like Democracy, seems to me to be better tan the alternatives.

[Brat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bssc ....one ran off with the 401(k) money.

I presume this was reported ...

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lazarus For younger people, why work at a Megacorp? If there is no security and no good benefits? I will have a pension, although it has been downsized by a buyout by another company. Good thing I have a 401. The pension would not be enough for me.

The trend is to pay now, supply benefits that can be used now, supply a 401(k), supply some kind of cash balance account that can move with the person... what they don't want is some potential liability that can baloon in the future... when you leave... you are gone for good..

But, they usually still pay better than the smaller firms and the benefits are still better..

[Outtahere]

When I was a kid first into the work force someone explained pensions to me. I remember naively thinking why would a company keep paying people that don't work for them any more and what happens if they stopped paying? My gut feelings back then were, these "pensions" could/would go away were pretty much correct. I don't have a pension and in a way I'm almost glad I don't, I'd be some upset to have it changed or taken away from me after working 10/20/30 years.

[bssc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brat I presume this was reported ...

We did and got our money back because he wanted to take the company public. This was one of his other companies. http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/pr041202.html

Thank goodness for Billy Beaver.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bssc We did and got our money back because he wanted to take the company public. This was one of his other companies. http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/pr041202.html Thank goodness for Billy Beaver.

Wow, that is scary.

I guess that is one reason I felt better with a 401K rollover to an IRA at a large financial institution. I suppose something fraudulent could happen there, but I'd bet things are a bit more transparent than at a business.

So, it looks like all the funds were restored by the company, the govt did not need to cover anything? DId the govt hit the execs up for legal fees, or any fines (beyond barring them from serving as trustees or fiduciaries to any employee pension benefit plan.)?

-ERD50

[bssc]

I don't know if the Government ended up footing the bill. However, the investors in his company sure did. As soon as my money hit the account (since I had left), I rolled it over.

The worse case was the guy who rolled his 401(k) from his old plan into this new one. Since the President never set up our 401(k), the guys money was rejected and sent to him less taxes and a 10% penalty. Ouch.

[Dog]

I worked at megacorp for over 27 years. Every year they mailed employees a statement that showed the value of their overall package - adding in pension and healthcare benefits (DH gets a similar statement from USPS). Interestingly, in the past two years megacorp has frozen the pension, and cut healthcare coverage, but no real increase in pay (in fact merit increases have been trending down). Take away....people will need to become much more self sufficient in their retirement planning and corporations will have to plan on constant churn.....no reason to be a lifer anymore. I wonder who wins in that tradeoff? Time will tell.....could be a great Harvard Business Case Study.