Forget the DB, if anything the one we had helped them get more in concessions from us than we will ever get from it.
My Cousin is just two months older than I. My Uncle got him a job in the Union as a Surveyor. Through the Union he has an annuity where for every hour worked the company contributed a flat sum of money, every hour. They never gave concessions, through bad times they took the layoffs. Still his annuity went into the millions, he is now retired. He lives well. in good times he can live well off the earnings. When he dies his heirs get the rest.
I had a Company DB. It was frozen just at the point where my benefits spiked up. The last 10 years would have earned almost as much as the first 25. Prior to it being frozen my union convinced enough of us to take massive concessions which limited my ability to fund my back up plan, my 401K savings. Needless to say I'm still working, and will for several more years, with just 25 paid days off a year, just five days more than most people start off off with. When we die, my heirs get nothing from my DB which despite the fact that I paid into it for most of my working life, will only give me about half of what I was expecting.
The pilots get 16% for their 401K. 16% for the rest of my working life , along with my match, would go a lot father than a new BD plan.
Lesson for the Young; Save early, save hard, invest if you can in real property and never, ever get tied into any sort of scheme that promises you security later for years of concessions now. Get as much value now as you possibly can, there is no such thing as investing in yourself if it means you are working for less for someone else. No such thing as security where the means to that security is out of reach, held by an employer. Never let your employer convince you to leave a penny that is yours on the table. The other day I received a call at home asking about the location of some paperwork. I told them where I left it, then when Iwent back to work I put in for the hour of pay. I was shocked to learn that a coworker with 35 years was also called, but he didn't put in for the hour. The same contract that allows them to only recognize FIVE Federal Holidays, and only pay us HALF PAY when we work also entitles us to that hour. The point? TAKE EVERY DOLLAR YOU CAN GET, and move it as far away from your employer as possible, or even your Union, THAT is the only way to achieve financial security, both now and in the future.
