Retirement issues for CWA members?

[700UW]

You dont contribute you to a defined benefit plan, you do however contribute to a defined contribution plan or a 401k.

 

[4merresrat]

Believe it or not, I know how you feel, my wife has spent 26 years with US and to retire with virually nothing sucks to no end...I see it every day driving around the ramps that most of these people out here should be enjoying retired life but can not afford to because of what has been taken away from them....I do not want to retire just to sit there and see her putting on a f'in uniform and stomping off to work instead of traveling and enjoying what time we have left...It's a criminal act that these companies are getting away with and it must stop now! I wish I could say I have made it through, but I still have ten years to go and hoping that some dimwit with the NC retirement system doesn't blow my future.....
Best of luck to you also, you are at least being proactive planning for your future.....Good Luck...

I'm sorry you have financial issues however to state hat "It is a criminal act that these companies are getting away with. . ." is way over-the-top and not intellectually honest.

If your spouse has worked with the company for 26 years and is retiring with "virtually nothing" then I would say you and your wife are responsible for your own retirement. If she has worked there 26 years she was getting a 401k with a company base and match until 2003. It would have been around 8% plus 50% match. That was stopped and now just 3% I believe. But I would assume she was contributing to her retirement. Why would you have "virtually nothing" in your 401k if she worked 26 years? This makes no sense. No company is responsible for your retirment. And certainly not so she can "travel and enjoying herself."

Please people listen to how you sound. And let it be a lesson to others who are not making plans for retirment.

 

[usa1]

You dont contribute you to a defined benefit plan, you do however contribute to a defined contribution plan or a 401k.

If you talking to me? ..... I was hired in 1978 and was told that each paycheck the company would be setting a side the proper amount, so if I worked here for 35 years I would be able to retire on about 1800-2000 per month, with healthcare. At age 62 some of that would be provided by Social Security. The BK judge took care of both .... and our new 401K plan is a joke since the company decided they could only contribute 3%.

I hate to say this but, I didn't think it would happen to me either .... and from what IM reading in the Journal, Government pensions are nothing more than a big ponzi scheme. A ponzi scheme to buy votes? No money to back them up.

IV been very pro-union but I am beginning to think they are absolutely useless. In the public sector they'll get you a bunch of broken promises from politicians and in the private sector they'll land you in front of a BK judge?

Sure would have been nice to retire and finally have the time to take a couple of those vacations I never had time for .... and finally use my travel privileges ...

 

[4merresrat]

If you talking to me? ..... I was hired in 1978 and was told that each paycheck the company would be setting a side the proper amount, so if I worked here for 35 years I would be able to retire on about 1800-2000 per month, with healthcare. At age 62 some of that would be provided by Social Security. The BK judge took care of both .... and our new 401K plan is a joke since the company decided they could only contribute 3%.
I hate to say this but, I didn't think it would happen to me either .... and from what IM reading in the Journal, Government pensions are nothing more than a big ponzi scheme. A ponzi scheme to buy votes? No money to back them up.
IV been very pro-union but I am beginning to think they are absolutely useless. In the public sector they'll get you a bunch of broken promises from politicians and in the private sector they'll land you in front of a BK judge?
Sure would have been nice to retire and finally have the time to take a couple of those vacations I never had time for .... and finally use my travel privileges ...

But you were not contributing. In your post you stated that you contribued to it. If you have a 401k then you may contribute. YOu are saying that you had a retirment plan that the company was contributing to however they went bankrupt. If you had contributed to it you would have gotten your money back.

 

[john john]

This makes no sense. No company is responsible for your retirement.

There you go the new HP way

“listen to how you sound”. Only if you knew the retirement packages and compensation the senior officers get that the “company is responsible”

 

[usa1]

Why would you have "virtually nothing" in your 401k if she worked 26 years? This makes no sense. No company is responsible for your retirment. And certainly not so she can "travel and enjoying herself."

Please people listen to how you sound. And let it be a lesson to others who are not making plans for retirment.

I have been putting in 15% of my own money from day one and now have 125,000.00 ...... according to what IV read the government on average has promised each gov employee a retirement equal to you and I having 375,000 in our 401k. And most of them have less than 30 years of government employment.

What more can you do ..... we don't make enough money to put in more than 15-20%.

 

[4merresrat]

I have been putting in 15% of my own money from day one and now have 125,000.00 ...... according to what IV read the government on average has promised each gov employee a retirement equal to you and I having 375,000 in our 401k. And most of them have less than 30 years of government employment.

What more can you do ..... we don't make enough money to put in more than 15-20%.

Congratulations for saving 125k that is awesome.
I wish someone would give me 375k for retirement! lol. The way all these gov't pensions are underfunded I suspect most people will be looking at alot less than that.
I just think it is personal responsibilty. We have to plan for and take care of ourselves.

 

[LGA / 037]

Congratulations for saving 125k that is awesome.
I wish someone would give me 375k for retirement! lol. The way all these gov't pensions are underfunded I suspect most people will be looking at alot less than that.
I just think it is personal responsibilty. We have to plan for and take care of ourselves.

Lets be fair there MORRESRAT...... I do not know if you were HP or US but PRIOR to 2002 and from the pension cancellation and inception of the 401K, US Air / US Airways allowed employees to invest 100% of the employees contribution up to 11% at the time. Certainly when am employer allows employees to put money in their own common stock is there no responsibilty on the companies part when they know they are going to file bankruptsy or are they allowed to hide behind legalized gambling? At least their legal was smart and did not allow ant company matches to be put towards the common stock plan.........

 

[usa1]

One of the biggest blows to my retirement plans came when Democrat Jim Oberstar basically blocked the US/UA merger in 2000, sending both companies into BK again. Based on UA's offer of 50 per share for USAir stock I ended up losing potentially 100,000.00. This was money I invested over and above my 401k contributions. The industry wasn't allowed to consolidate and and soon just about every pension in the industry ended up in the hands of the PBGC. All in the name of cheap tickets?

http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/21/business/fi-2780

Rep. James L. Oberstar of Minnesota, one of two Democrats who requested the GAO report, said the Justice Department should block the deal in any form because it would open the door to further industry consolidation and the possibility of just three big U.S. airlines.

Now the tax payer via the PBGC is on the hook to pay whats left of just about every pension in the aviation industry ..... brilliant Jim!

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/11/04/house-transportation/

 

[AP Tech]

But you were not contributing. In your post you stated that you contribued to it. If you have a 401k then you may contribute. YOu are saying that you had a retirment plan that the company was contributing to however they went bankrupt. If you had contributed to it you would have gotten your money back.

Sorry, but I have to disagee on this post....He may not have been actually writing a check each month into his retirement account, but it was negotiated that the company was responsible for putting the proper amount in the plan. If there had been no talk of a defined benifit plan during negotiations then they may have seen a few more $$ in hourly wage. Just my opinion that the company shold have been responsible for the payments and its a shame for what the BK laws let them get away with!!!

 

[LD3]

I'm sorry you have financial issues however to state hat "It is a criminal act that these companies are getting away with. . ." is way over-the-top and not intellectually honest.

If your spouse has worked with the company for 26 years and is retiring with "virtually nothing" then I would say you and your wife are responsible for your own retirement. If she has worked there 26 years she was getting a 401k with a company base and match until 2003. It would have been around 8% plus 50% match. That was stopped and now just 3% I believe. But I would assume she was contributing to her retirement. Why would you have "virtually nothing" in your 401k if she worked 26 years? This makes no sense. No company is responsible for your retirment. And certainly not so she can "travel and enjoying herself."

Please people listen to how you sound. And let it be a lesson to others who are not making plans for retirment.

Where did I say I am having financial difficulties? My point was that the company took advantage of BK to toss the pensions, leaving people to work longer than expected...

 

[700UW]

And what has anyone done to change this?

Not a damn thing, people need to vote with their wallets instead of hot button issues.

 

[4merresrat]

Where did I say I am having financial difficulties? My point was that the company took advantage of BK to toss the pensions, leaving people to work longer than expected...

In your post you stated: Believe it or not, I know how you feel, my wife has spent 26 years with US and to retire with virually nothing sucks to no end...I see it every day driving around the ramps that most of these people out here should be enjoying retired life but can not afford to because of what has been taken away from them....I do not want to retire just to sit there and see her putting on a f'in uniform and stomping off to work instead of traveling and enjoying what time we have left...It's a criminal act that these companies are getting away with and it must stop now! I wish I could say I have made it through, but I still have ten years to go and hoping that some dimwit with the NC retirement system doesn't blow my future.....

You said it right in your post. That your wife spent 26 years with US and is retiring with virtually nothing and she has to stomp off to work instead of traveling and enjoying. . .

Is this not you and your quote? You impled you were having difficulties no?

 

[LD3]

In your post you stated: Believe it or not, I know how you feel, my wife has spent 26 years with US and to retire with virually nothing sucks to no end...I see it every day driving around the ramps that most of these people out here should be enjoying retired life but can not afford to because of what has been taken away from them....I do not want to retire just to sit there and see her putting on a f'in uniform and stomping off to work instead of traveling and enjoying what time we have left...It's a criminal act that these companies are getting away with and it must stop now! I wish I could say I have made it through, but I still have ten years to go and hoping that some dimwit with the NC retirement system doesn't blow my future.....

You said it right in your post. That your wife spent 26 years with US and is retiring with virtually nothing and she has to stomp off to work instead of traveling and enjoying. . .

Is this not you and your quote? You impled you were having difficulties no?

I guess I should have stated that everyone worked their asses off for this company to walk away with just a 401K, where is the pension? Believe me, I have saved for the coming days...You see nothing wrong that the company dumped the pensions off on the government for them to administer? BK has allowed companies to pilfer the pockets of hard working men and women in this country and you see nothing wrong with this?

 

[wings396]

This is an odd situation to say the least. The company has wanted to shed senior employees for years, yet they have made it nearly impossible for anyone to retire. Most of us will be hanging around until we are 70 years old, collecting the top rate of pay all the way till the end. I'm starting to think that bailing out at 55, and getting a P/T job elsewhere with medical benefits may be the way to go. Has anyone else noticed that what you can collect from the PBGC differs very little at 55 vs 62?
Any reductions in force will only eliminate lower wage employees, while the senior people hang around to suck every last dollar out of the company that they can. Just another design flaw in the way they look at things, just like the sick day policy that encourages people to burn a week instead of a day. Stupid is, stupid does...