Looking back at work ...

[engr]

Been retired approx 4 years after wife incurred a chronic health issue and I needed to leave.

I remember working my butt off for the last 23 years with a large defense company.

I remember being told how valuable the workers are.

I remember having pensions being replaced by 401k and how they were great because I would be in a lower tax bracket in retirement (NOT). This allowed the company to write off pension obligations

Recently our retiree health insurance is being transferred to a private insurance firm with a small subsidy from the company. Again the retirees are off the company books and must fend for themselves.

I guess the employees lost value over time.
Somehow the company always holds all the cards.

I wish I knew this at age 21. I was too optimistic .

Fortunately I was a saver over the last 40 years and was able to leave.

I tell my kids to save as much as possible so they will have options later if needed.

It wasn’t easy to save especially with a family and college expenses but I’m glad I did. Not being a slave is priceless. I’m grateful to be away from all the politics and other crap.

The one thing that sticks out is how great most of the workers were. Very hard working and professional.

What do you remember?
What would you have done differently?

 

[brucethebroker]

I also raised our kids to be thrifty and invest early. Told them to be independent enough to be financially free at 50-after that is a very tough time for many high earners as age discrimination catches up to them. So far, they are moving right along....

 

[travelover]

After 4 years I'd long quit thinking about it. Now at 11 years, I can't remember most names of people that annoyed me.

 

[Bamaman]

I am so thankful to receive that defined pension check monthly. And I am glad our ex-Megacorp has cheap Medicare supplements for my wife and I. And I am thankful to have had fantastic benefits that came out of blue collar union contracts.

But what I am most thankful for that is that my Megacorp terminated all employees 55 years of age or older in 2008. They overreacted to the economic downturn and they paid a big, big price to send us into ER.

 

[DrRoy]

I never felt highly valued by Megacorp. I did save between 12 and 22% of my salary and am now a year+ FIREd with a small pension and over 30X my last year's pay.

 

[Dtail]

I wish I found this site earlier. I wouldn't change one thing about prior work and don't think about think about it or the people. Been retired for 10 months.

 

[MRG]

I'm saddened today. My Megacorp had a RIF yesterday and I was happy for many folk, till I heard most are looking for work. Interesting it when I started a Megacorp one of their selling points was they had never had a layoff. Never would.

All that changed when the original CEO retired. The new CEO got cut yesterday he'd only been there 10 years. Think I read he walked with a $40,000,000 package!

When I started there we had profit sharing with Megacorp picking up all contributions and fees. No contribution required. Later it was switched to a 401k. Later we paid all our own fees.

When Megacorp went public our original CEO tried to list the associates as assets of the company. That didn't fly but it gave his perception of value to the people. Yesterday the value of non-executives was 2 weeks pay per year of service.

 

[Cobra9777]

I'm right at the 5 year mark after 25 with Mega. I still interact with 4 or 5 people who were good friends and valued coworkers. Occasional lunch, but mostly via email and social media. I miss the regular interaction with these folks.

Mega dropped the DB pension for new employees in the late 1990s, but let then-current employees choose whether to stay or move to the 401K with extra matching funds. I stayed with the pension and Megacorp supports it to this day. DW also has a nice pension through a Texas municipality and we both have employer-subsidized group health insurance, both pre and post-Medicare.

All in all, I'd say Megacorp treated me quite well. No real complaints. For the most part, senior management let me do my thing... my way. Compensation was good enough to allow ER at 52. Post-retirement benefits are good. The last 10 years was quite stressful but much of that was due to my workaholic attitude and willingness to travel and take on additional responsibility. Once FI, I was quite happy to implement my exit strategy, but I do miss some of the people.

 

[VanWinkle]

I worked for a total of 3 corporations in my 40 plus years of work. Each one has added to my experience and growth. I do not regret any of those years. I also receive a small pension from my last employer and saved 30 times my needed expenses in retirement. It is nice to save a bucket load of money, but I did the same by controlling my spending before and after retirement. That is much more important than portfolios, pensions, and SS in my opinion.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Yesterday the value of non-executives was 2 weeks pay per year of service.

Not a bad deal these days. Every employer I ever worked for gave you free directions to the nearest exit. Never saw anyone ever get severance pay.

 

[friar1610]

After 4 years I'd long quit thinking about it. Now at 11 years, I can't remember most names of people that annoyed me.

I remember several years after retiring going through my contacts list and purging it of any names that had been connected to my working life. It amazed me how I could not remember anything about so many people who had once been important for one reason or another.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

My advice to people starting out is: "Save until your nest egg becomes a third person in your marriage. Then you're getting somewhere!"

-BB