Retirement Shock and Needing to Find a Job.

[Luvdogs]

With our 401K, the company match was only in company stock. At the time DH and I both worked for the same company so it was a significant amount. I'm not sure if that was a "company" rule or someone else's but it was changed shortly after Enron went belly-up.

Within a week I changed it into index funds.

Turned out to be a good move.

We also had stock options, sold at about $75 fifteen+ years ago, stock went up to $100 for a short time, crashed with the rest of the market (financial company), stock went down to $3.00 at one time and is now around $50.

[Fleur58]

I have a teensy weensy GE pension coming to me from a company that was bought by GE in the 90s. I worked at the company for only 6 years. So I'll get $465 a month in 5 year when I am 65. Since its equals $5580 a year, I wonder if I should accept a lump sum if offered if the company is on shaky ground with its pension funding?

[Andre1969]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fleur58 I have a teensy weensy GE pension coming to me from a company that was bought by GE in the 90s. I worked at the company for only 6 years. So I'll get $465 a month in 5 year when I am 65. Since its equals $5580 a year, I wonder if I should accept a lump sum if offered if the company is on shaky ground with its pension funding?

I had something similar, and took the buyout offer. In my case, I had worked for McDonnell-Douglas, and then Boeing, once they took us over. I had something like 5 1/2 years in...I remember it wasn't quite 6. That got me a pension of $349.21 per month, when I turn 65. So, in 2035, I'd start getting it. It wasn't indexed to inflation though...it would just be that amount.

Back in 2014, they offered a buyout, and I took it. I got a little over $14,000. It might not have been the best decision in the world, but I figured I'd rather get the money now, and be responsible for it, rather than have their pension plan go through some kind of turmoil.

FWIW, I ran the numbers, and I'd have to generate a return of around 10.5% each year, to get $14K on 1/1/15 up to $103,127 by 1/1/2035. That's about what I'd need for a 4% SWR to generate roughly $349.21/mo. Realistically, that probably won't happen. But, who knows what would happen to the terms of that pension over time, either?

[ChiliPepr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I wonder how much his salary when still working was. Was it more than $85K? I did not know GE pays factory workers that well, but then anything is possible.

A GE worker could easily make $85k a year. I worked in a precision sheet metal company that was a subcontractor to GE when I was a teen and there were several people making over $40/hour on the floor and this was in the early '80s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipro33 If GE is that generous with pensions, or that inept at negotiating labor wages, perhaps it was inevitable that they were going to fail. It certainly brings to question their other management decisions and negotiation skills.

Same reason a lot of city's have issues now, they were to generous with pensions and inept a negotiating wages. Difference is a municipality can always just raise taxes to pay.