The city that outsourced everything

[UCGal]

[quote=JohnAlt91941][quote=UCGal]

So – until Jan 2000 – I had a defined benefit pension from a publicly traded company (not government.) From 2000-2009 I had a portable pension from a publicly traded company (not government). This is in addition to 401k programs.

[/quote]

I understand and acknowledged that these kinds of plans were more common 10-15 years ago. What I haven’t seen you confirm is how generous they were.

The city of San Diego, I believe, awards 2.5% for each year and someone can retire at 55. So someone could start there at 25 and retire at 55 at 75% of their highest pay. Was your pension that good or close to it?[/quote]

Not quite that good – they used the “rule of 75” – years of service plus age = 75 or greater before you qualified for retiree healthcare. (Basically retirees could buy into the employee plan at close to the employee rate – a sweet deal.)

For the pension – if they hadn’t frozen it I was looking at 70% of the average of my late 5 years base salary starting at age 62. So again – a pretty sweet deal. It was 75% if you waited to 65. That’s the defined benefit one that was frozen when we were acquired.

Because it was frozen I’m looking at a whoppin’ $136/month at age 62. Woo hoo, party time. /snark

The portable pension was a crappier deal from the get go, in comparison. It was 1% of the salary put into a fund for an annuity – or lump sum distribution equal to what they’d pay for the annuity.
Folks who were with the parent company prior to 1999 were grandfathered into the old parent company defined benefit pension. They stopped (froze) that in 2008 or 2009. So for longer term employees who were there before my company was acquired – they had a nice pension up into 3 or so years ago.

[Reality]

Don’t you think those pensions were exceptional for the time? I don’t know anyone who was in line to get that level of retirement benefit in that era from a non government employer.

[Reality]

Don’t you think those pensions were exceptional for the time? I don’t know anyone who was in line to get that level of retirement benefit in that era from a non government employer.

[Reality]

Don’t you think those pensions were exceptional for the time? I don’t know anyone who was in line to get that level of retirement benefit in that era from a non government employer.

[Reality]

Don’t you think those pensions were exceptional for the time? I don’t know anyone who was in line to get that level of retirement benefit in that era from a non government employer.

[Reality]

Don’t you think those pensions were exceptional for the time? I don’t know anyone who was in line to get that level of retirement benefit in that era from a non government employer.

[CA renter]

John,

I think you’re missing the point. Can we not ALL agree that, in aggregate, employees were better off 10, 20, 30 years ago than they are now? Can we also agree on the fact that the executive class and financial elite are doing far, far better than they were back then?

In other words, the money and power have shifted from the workers to the people who control money flows. Do you disagree with that?

BTW, when you’re thinking about those “generous” public benefits, don’t forget that most public employees also gave up retiree healthcare for new hires in the mid-90s. That’s a very big deal.

[CA renter]

John,

I think you’re missing the point. Can we not ALL agree that, in aggregate, employees were better off 10, 20, 30 years ago than they are now? Can we also agree on the fact that the executive class and financial elite are doing far, far better than they were back then?

In other words, the money and power have shifted from the workers to the people who control money flows. Do you disagree with that?

BTW, when you’re thinking about those “generous” public benefits, don’t forget that most public employees also gave up retiree healthcare for new hires in the mid-90s. That’s a very big deal.

[CA renter]

John,

I think you’re missing the point. Can we not ALL agree that, in aggregate, employees were better off 10, 20, 30 years ago than they are now? Can we also agree on the fact that the executive class and financial elite are doing far, far better than they were back then?

In other words, the money and power have shifted from the workers to the people who control money flows. Do you disagree with that?

BTW, when you’re thinking about those “generous” public benefits, don’t forget that most public employees also gave up retiree healthcare for new hires in the mid-90s. That’s a very big deal.

[CA renter]

John,

I think you’re missing the point. Can we not ALL agree that, in aggregate, employees were better off 10, 20, 30 years ago than they are now? Can we also agree on the fact that the executive class and financial elite are doing far, far better than they were back then?

In other words, the money and power have shifted from the workers to the people who control money flows. Do you disagree with that?

BTW, when you’re thinking about those “generous” public benefits, don’t forget that most public employees also gave up retiree healthcare for new hires in the mid-90s. That’s a very big deal.

[CA renter]

John,

I think you’re missing the point. Can we not ALL agree that, in aggregate, employees were better off 10, 20, 30 years ago than they are now? Can we also agree on the fact that the executive class and financial elite are doing far, far better than they were back then?

In other words, the money and power have shifted from the workers to the people who control money flows. Do you disagree with that?

BTW, when you’re thinking about those “generous” public benefits, don’t forget that most public employees also gave up retiree healthcare for new hires in the mid-90s. That’s a very big deal.

[UCGal]

[quote=JohnAlt91941]Don’t you think those pensions were exceptional for the time? I don’t know anyone who was in line to get that level of retirement benefit in that era from a non government employer.[/quote]
Not exceptional if you had a large employer.
Yes if you worked for smaller companies.

I have family members who worked in non-union jobs at large companies who all have/had pensions. GM, Lexmark,

Locally GA offeres a pension according to their website… so it’s still available.

[UCGal]

[quote=JohnAlt91941]Don’t you think those pensions were exceptional for the time? I don’t know anyone who was in line to get that level of retirement benefit in that era from a non government employer.[/quote]
Not exceptional if you had a large employer.
Yes if you worked for smaller companies.

I have family members who worked in non-union jobs at large companies who all have/had pensions. GM, Lexmark,

Locally GA offeres a pension according to their website… so it’s still available.

[UCGal]

[quote=JohnAlt91941]Don’t you think those pensions were exceptional for the time? I don’t know anyone who was in line to get that level of retirement benefit in that era from a non government employer.[/quote]
Not exceptional if you had a large employer.
Yes if you worked for smaller companies.

I have family members who worked in non-union jobs at large companies who all have/had pensions. GM, Lexmark,

Locally GA offeres a pension according to their website… so it’s still available.

[UCGal]

[quote=JohnAlt91941]Don’t you think those pensions were exceptional for the time? I don’t know anyone who was in line to get that level of retirement benefit in that era from a non government employer.[/quote]
Not exceptional if you had a large employer.
Yes if you worked for smaller companies.

I have family members who worked in non-union jobs at large companies who all have/had pensions. GM, Lexmark,

Locally GA offeres a pension according to their website… so it’s still available.

[Author]

Posts