Good Bye Mega-Corp

[jazz4cash]

It's not what you think. Mega-corp spun my unit off to a joint venture group, so after 28 yrs, Im now 1 of 3400 instead of 134,000. Mega-corp was good to me, but they struggled to compete while our little niche thrived. Newco says they will mirror all benefits of Mega-corp, but me thinks they are finding higher costs for benefits for a 'mid-size' group. Mega-Corp was in a tremendous hurry to book the sale so we are trying to figure out which piece goes where. At least every question has the same answer........."we'll let you know when we get that worked out". Pension and vacation is the same and Fidelity still runs the 401k for Newco, but I did lose retiree health benefit..........13 months short of qualifying

.....................Seperation Angst.
its a new day
its a new day
its a new day

 

[clifp]

So when is seperation day for you from NewCo?

 

[bbbamI]

That is a bummer.

20 months to go for DH to be able to retire from Mega corp with all the bennies. It's nerve racking to say the least.

Take a deep breath. Maybe things will work out better than you think.

 

[Spanky]

too bad about the retiree health benefits, but it's fortunate that pension is kept.

 

[W2R]

It's not what you think. Mega-corp spun my unit off to a joint venture group, so after 28 yrs, Im now 1 of 3400 instead of 134,000. Mega-corp was good to me, but they struggled to compete while our little niche thrived. Newco says they will mirror all benefits of Mega-corp, but me thinks they are finding higher costs for benefits for a 'mid-size' group. Mega-Corp was in a tremendous hurry to book the sale so we are trying to figure out which piece goes where. At least every question has the same answer........."we'll let you know when we get that worked out". Pension and vacation is the same and Fidelity still runs the 401k for Newco, but I did lose retiree health benefit..........13 months short of qualifying

.....................Seperation Angst.
its a new day
its a new day
its a new day

What a huge transition. I can understand why you might feel a bit ambivalent about it; losing health insurance in retirement is quite a blow, though it must be a relief to find out that you still have a pension. Good luck at Newco!!

 

[ats5g]

IIRC companies can cancel retiree health benies pretty much anytime they please. There's no PBGC for retiree health benies. AFAIK, there's no prefunding requirement for them either, unlike pension plans.

 

[jazz4cash]

IIRC companies can cancel retiree health benies pretty much anytime they please. There's no PBGC for retiree health benies. AFAIK, there's no prefunding requirement for them either, unlike pension plans.

good point! its exactly what I've told everyone that'll listen: " That benefit may well be watered down to nothing by the time we get there". I have 10 yrs to go and I expect they will provide some sort of lump to ease thier conscience and I have time and maybe access to spouse's plan. Im not the RE type anyway.............Im only here to study with the AP class!

Newco is really a great thing, but Mega-corp has 2/3 of my pension so Im still rooting for them

 

[chinaco]

...but I did lose retiree health benefit..........13 months short of qualifying

Sorry to hear that. I have seen that happen to people where I work. Plus, when these deals go down, companies usually freeze people in the position as part of the deal... Since the buyer wants the people for continuity purposes.

IMHO - If you have a significant investment in the company (and something to lose) and the flexibility to move (transfer in an organization), try to move yourself to an area of the company that is the core competency area or line of business. It is not guarantee, but the chances of being sold off are reduced.


I would not work for one of our subsidiaries just for that reason.

IIRC companies can cancel retiree health benies pretty much anytime they please. There's no PBGC for retiree health benies. AFAIK, there's no prefunding requirement for them either, unlike pension plans.

True enough. But I would still rather have it than not. Even if it only lasts a few years in retirement, one can probably save some significant money compared to purchasing it individually.

 

[jazz4cash]

Sorry to hear that. I have seen that happen to people where I work. Plus, when these deals go down, companies usually freeze people in the position as part of the deal... Since the buyer wants the people for continuity purposes.

IMHO - If you have a significant investment in the company (and something to lose) and the flexibility to move (transfer in an organization), try to move yourself to an area of the company that is the core competency area or line of business. It is not guarantee, but the chances of being sold off are reduced.


I would not work for one of our subsidiaries just for that reason.







True enough. But I would still rather have it than not. Even if it only lasts a few years in retirement, one can probably save some significant money compared to purchasing it individually.

Pretty good call, Chinaco. Right on the money, in fact. Unfortunately, I moved a few years back from a core area to a fringe area to be closer to family. Now we are advised that anyone not vested with the retiree health care benefit will get lumped into the current plan used for anyone hired since 1993. They get 1% of base pay contributed to thier 401k and I 'guess' they're supposed to buy thier own insurance with that....seems like a pretty marginal plan and makes me realize how much I lost due to the spin-off. So I figure they owe me 1% of everything I've ever earned PLUS the appreciation PLUS I believe the post-'99 hirees get more pay in lieu of benefits...........so I'm screwed. I can't expect them to make these estimations in my favor and it seems very unlikely that this amount of cash would amount to anywhere near what I need to buy healthcare coverage in retirement 10 years from now, anyway. Am I missing something?
The company is in stealth mode........more so than Ive ever known them to be. Higher ups really don't want to discuss the issue. We're talking about getting together as a group to get some answers.

 

[chinaco]

That really stinks. Most mega-corps now-a-days aren't your fathers Mega-Corp. They have little concern but next quarters profits.

 

[jazz4cash]

Im more upset with Newco than Mega-corp. 3/4 of pension will be Mega-corp, so I still gotta root for thier long-term success.