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UPS subsidizing non ups pensions
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<blockquote data-quote="JonFrum" data-source="post: 148747"><p>I've finally figured it all out, (more or less.)</p><p></p><p>I've been researching the pension plan problem by reading everything I can get my hands on, since I started this thread on Labor Day 2006. I've posted my ongoing findings here week after week. I've learned (or had my previous suspicions confirmed) that:</p><p>The pension funds are poorly designed to begin with. They are a particularly bad match for UPSers. </p><p>They were heavily invested in the market during the 2000-2002 bear market and lost a fortune.</p><p>UPS has a wide variety of policies and practices that make it very difficult for most UPSers to qualify under plan rules to actually collect pension benefits. Most UPS contributions are forfeited to the funds, in whole or in part.</p><p>Single-employer plans are (literally) 100 times more risky than multi-employer plans, because they are totally dependant on just one company. And the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) is in deep trouble itself.</p><p>Adding new members or employer groups does not help a fund in any major way. New member money is earmarked for the future retirement of those new members, not existing members. Retirees are supported by their own contributions, and the forfeited contributions of their fellow workers at the company or companies they worked for, as well as any investment returns made thereon. </p><p>Dividing up the membership into numerous regional plans is very wastful and makes it next to impossible to get to the bottom of any situation, or get agreement on anything since everyone's situation is different and only effects a limited number of people.</p><p>Trustees receive advice from professional actuaries, lawyers, investment advisors, etc. As such they can usually claim that they acted "reasonably" no matter what the mess they created.</p><p>The Teamsters (IBT) has been operating under a federal court "Consent Decree" since 1989, and the Central States Pension Fund has been under a seperate decree since 1982. Strange as it may seem, everything happened under the watchful eye of the federal government. Go figure.</p><p>There is a alarming amount of misinformation circulating about all aspects of the pension situation.</p><p>The Union, the Companies, and the Pension Plans themselves, all keep us in the dark as much as US Law will allow them to. Pension Plan information is often two years old by the time it is released. Only in recent years has information been available on official websites, and this is mixed with spin designed to deflect blame away from them. </p><p>There is very little interest in following pension matters on the part of most participants, at least until they get a letter in the mail telling them their future pension has been slashed and it's not coming back any time soon.</p><p>Various regional pension reform committees aren't as much help as they could be. The New England Teamster's Pension Improvement Committee (NETPIC) went out of existence years ago. The Central States Pension Improvement Committee (CSPIC),</p><p>Central States Pension Improvement Committee</p><p>the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Improvement Committee (WESTPIC),</p><p>WestPIC-The Western Teamsters Pension Improvement Committee</p><p>and the Central Pensylvania Teamster Reform Committee (CPTRC),</p><p>Central PA Teamsters Pension Reform Committee</p><p>have web sites and newsletters, but they have not been updated for months. Their feedback bulletin board forums have been discontinued. Nevertheless, the sites are still well worth visiting as the problems effecting these funds effect most other funds as well. </p><p>Not enough effort is made to raise the general level of knowledge about the workings of pension plans. That's why I've taken it upon myself to publish information in this thread, complete with lots of links to original sources representing all points of view. </p><p>Continued below . . .</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JonFrum, post: 148747"] I've finally figured it all out, (more or less.) I've been researching the pension plan problem by reading everything I can get my hands on, since I started this thread on Labor Day 2006. I've posted my ongoing findings here week after week. I've learned (or had my previous suspicions confirmed) that: The pension funds are poorly designed to begin with. They are a particularly bad match for UPSers. They were heavily invested in the market during the 2000-2002 bear market and lost a fortune. UPS has a wide variety of policies and practices that make it very difficult for most UPSers to qualify under plan rules to actually collect pension benefits. Most UPS contributions are forfeited to the funds, in whole or in part. Single-employer plans are (literally) 100 times more risky than multi-employer plans, because they are totally dependant on just one company. And the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) is in deep trouble itself. Adding new members or employer groups does not help a fund in any major way. New member money is earmarked for the future retirement of those new members, not existing members. Retirees are supported by their own contributions, and the forfeited contributions of their fellow workers at the company or companies they worked for, as well as any investment returns made thereon. Dividing up the membership into numerous regional plans is very wastful and makes it next to impossible to get to the bottom of any situation, or get agreement on anything since everyone's situation is different and only effects a limited number of people. Trustees receive advice from professional actuaries, lawyers, investment advisors, etc. As such they can usually claim that they acted "reasonably" no matter what the mess they created. The Teamsters (IBT) has been operating under a federal court "Consent Decree" since 1989, and the Central States Pension Fund has been under a seperate decree since 1982. Strange as it may seem, everything happened under the watchful eye of the federal government. Go figure. There is a alarming amount of misinformation circulating about all aspects of the pension situation. The Union, the Companies, and the Pension Plans themselves, all keep us in the dark as much as US Law will allow them to. Pension Plan information is often two years old by the time it is released. Only in recent years has information been available on official websites, and this is mixed with spin designed to deflect blame away from them. There is very little interest in following pension matters on the part of most participants, at least until they get a letter in the mail telling them their future pension has been slashed and it's not coming back any time soon. Various regional pension reform committees aren't as much help as they could be. The New England Teamster's Pension Improvement Committee (NETPIC) went out of existence years ago. The Central States Pension Improvement Committee (CSPIC), Central States Pension Improvement Committee the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Improvement Committee (WESTPIC), WestPIC-The Western Teamsters Pension Improvement Committee and the Central Pensylvania Teamster Reform Committee (CPTRC), Central PA Teamsters Pension Reform Committee have web sites and newsletters, but they have not been updated for months. Their feedback bulletin board forums have been discontinued. Nevertheless, the sites are still well worth visiting as the problems effecting these funds effect most other funds as well. Not enough effort is made to raise the general level of knowledge about the workings of pension plans. That's why I've taken it upon myself to publish information in this thread, complete with lots of links to original sources representing all points of view. Continued below . . . [/QUOTE]
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