Whats your pension ? Union dues Etc.

[JonFrum]

jonfrum, trying to send you a msg, are you not accepting private messages??

Sorry for the inconvience Coldworld. But there's a can of worms that I need to keep the lid on. Feel free to post your message here.

Posting on Browncafe can attract some nasty people and even nastier comments. So, based on many unpleasant experiences, I had to turn off Private Messaging, Rep Power, etc. from the moment registration became mandatory in Oct. 2008. (I had posted for two years prior to that, also under the name JonFrum, but without registering, back when registering was not required for posting.)

- - - -
I think Over9five is referring to the cuts in the pension plan that grandfathered everyone up to that point, but all future pension credit accruals would be at a lesser rate. You had to have 25 years or more pension credit by the cut-off date, for example, otherwise you couldn't retire on a 25-and-out pension thereafter.

 

[over9five]

- - - -
I think Over9five is referring to the cuts in the pension plan that grandfathered everyone up to that point, but all future pension credit accruals would be at a lesser rate. You had to have 25 years or more pension credit by the cut-off date, for example, otherwise you couldn't retire on a 25-and-out pension thereafter.

Yup yup.

 

[Coldworld]

Yup yup.

Is this for everyone or just for one area...if for everyone can someone direct me to more info on this. Did this happen a few years ago when they cut the accrual rate, but I was under the impression this rate could go up once the economy came back. Dont most plans have 80 and out, Im pretty sure western conference does along with peer coverage meaning one could retire at 50 if they started at 20 and this was with adding parttime years if they applied to you.

 

[Coldworld]

Does anyone know recent retirees who worked out west and are part of the western conference, any info on how much they would make after 30 years per month. I dont think healthcare is included within the west plan, are there other plans around the country that would give their employees health care INCLUDED with the monthly pension.

 

[Coldworld]

Sorry for the inconvience Coldworld. But there's a can of worms that I need to keep the lid on. Feel free to post your message here.

Posting on Browncafe can attract some nasty people and even nastier comments. So, based on many unpleasant experiences, I had to turn off Private Messaging, Rep Power, etc. from the moment registration became mandatory in Oct. 2008. (I had posted for two years prior to that, also under the name JonFrum, but without registering, back when registering was not required for posting.)

- - - -
I think Over9five is referring to the cuts in the pension plan that grandfathered everyone up to that point, but all future pension credit accruals would be at a lesser rate. You had to have 25 years or more pension credit by the cut-off date, for example, otherwise you couldn't retire on a 25-and-out pension thereafter.

Jonfrum, the question I was going to ask is purely hypothetical, Im just curious about it and since your the resident pension expert on here I thought you might know. Lets say someone who works here could retire today with 30 years service and was fired, could they collect their pension and collect unemployment until the unemployment ran out....or would the pension be considered income thus making unemployment impossible.

 

[chargedformula]

30 AND OUT UNREDUCED
Age at Retirement: 55 Yrs.0 Mo.
Effective Date: 11/01/2038
Retirement Type: 30 and Out Unreduced
Normal Benefit Amount: $ 16,095.25
Reduction for Age: $ 0.00
Net Benefit Amount: $ 16,096.00

copy and paste from my IAM pension calculator. yes that IS monthly for those wondering

 

[Coldworld]

30 AND OUT UNREDUCED
Age at Retirement: 55 Yrs.0 Mo.
Effective Date: 11/01/2038
Retirement Type: 30 and Out Unreduced
Normal Benefit Amount: $ 16,095.25
Reduction for Age: $ 0.00
Net Benefit Amount: $ 16,096.00

copy and paste from my IAM pension calculator. yes that IS monthly for those wondering

Ha, sorry to tell you that doesnt sound right...care to elaborate??

 

[chargedformula]

ups currently contributes $7.70 an hour into the pension fund (according to the machinists contract). plus i still have 28 more years to go! so basically there is a lot of money being pumped in and i have a lot of time on my side.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Charged, do yourself a big favor--do not base your retirement plans on you receiving $16K/month during retirement as it just ain't gonna happen. $5K/month is the high side of pension projections.

 

[chargedformula]

dont worry, i am not putting all my eggs in one basket. i have a 401k going and just started the employee stock purchase plan. i expect more than 5k for the pension though...thats what current retirees are receiving . the one mechanic who retired last year is making more retired than he was working.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

dont worry, i am not putting all my eggs in one basket. i have a 401k going and just started the employee stock purchase plan. i expect more than 5k for the pension though...thats what current retirees are receiving . the one mechanic who retired last year is making more retired than he was working.

That is exactly why your pension and my pension are in trouble. My pension is in a rehabilitation plan and our current and next three split raises are being diverted to the pension. We also have about 5K more retirees than actives so there is more going out than coming in.

If you are basing your retirement plans on receiving a pension larger than $5K/month you may want to rethink those plans.

 

[chargedformula]

last i saw our pension fund was doing good. dont get me wrong, i am not banking on it or counting on it. a lot can happen in the 28 more years i have to go. but i would think that the pension would increase over 5k in 28 years. if it doesnt, that 5k a month will be chump change. this is from the pension web site. maybe you know something i dont. it does say something about a “amortization extension" to put it in the green zone.


IAM NATIONAL PENSION FUND, NATIONAL PENSION PLAN
2010 Green Zone Notice
We are pleased to report that the National Pension Plan is neither endangered nor
critical, and it remains in the green zone. Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006
(PPA), the IAM National Pension Fund's actuary must annually certify the National
Pension Plan's funded status. If the Plan is determined to be in endangered (yellow zone)
or critical (red zone) status, the Trustees must develop a formal plan of corrective action to
improve the Plan's financial health and must tell participants, contributing employers, and
sponsoring unions about the Plan's funded status.
While the law does not require us to report our green zone status to you, we thought you
would like to hear this current news about your Plan.
To qualify for the green zone, a plan must be at least 80% funded and must not have a
projected funding deficiency during the next seven years. We are pleased to report that
the PPA certification filed in March with the Internal Revenue Service shows that the
National Pension Plan meets this test with a funded percentage of 95.6%.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Your pension appears to be in very good shape.

 

[JonFrum]

Jonfrum, the question I was going to ask is purely hypothetical, Im just curious about it and since your the resident pension expert on here I thought you might know. Lets say someone who works here could retire today with 30 years service and was fired, could they collect their pension and collect unemployment until the unemployment ran out....or would the pension be considered income thus making unemployment impossible.

If you are in the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Fund, their website is . . .
https://web.archive.org/web/20130127205742/http://www.wctpension.org/

Over9five and I were talking about our troubled New England pension fund. Every fund is different, but most are in trouble to one degree or another and have made similar cuts in benefits and have required increases in contributions.

Every state's unemployment rules are different, but usually if you get fired for just cause, you can't collect unemployment checks. And if you can, UPS will fight it.

Your pension plan probably has a rule that if you retire and begin collecting monthly pension checks, you can't be working, or if you do work you can only work a few hours per month, or only in certain occupations.

Retiree health care is probably provided by your Health & Welfare fund, not by the pension plan. Visit your health plan's website for the details.

 

[helenofcalifornia]

Don't forget that the pension money is taxable. An out here, we have to pay anywhere from $50-150 a month for health benefits if we retire between 50 and 65.

 

[scratch]

Has anybody been in Central States and retired recently under the IBT/UPS Pension Plan? I keep hearing that the years we worked part time are not included in this plan. If so, then what happened to that part time UPS pension that had a reciprocal agreement with Central States?

 

[JonFrum]

Has anybody been in Central States and retired recently under the IBT/UPS Pension Plan? I keep hearing that the years we worked part time are not included in this plan. If so, then what happened to that part time UPS pension that had a reciprocal agreement with Central States?

The reciprocal agreement is still in effect. See . . .
http://tdu.org/node/2962

 

[Raw]

I am one of those 44,000 who once was in Central States and now is in UPS Pension. I think sooner or later all pensions will be cut down to our $3000.00 max. or less.

 

[trickpony1]

Your pension plan probably has a rule that if you retire and begin collecting monthly pension checks, you can't be working, or if you do work you can only work a few hours per month, or only in certain occupations.

JonFrum-
During a annual OJS ride with a supe whom I have a shred of respect for, we discussed this very thing.

supe: "you all didn't win your lawsuit?"
trickster: "what lawsuit?"
supe: "the lawsuit that says the union can't tell you what you can and can't do after you retire".
trickster: "this is the first I've heard of it".
supe: "you all earned this. For every week you work the company gives the famous union x number of dollars on your behalf. You don't work, you don't earn those benefits.".

So maybe you, JonFrum, can help me understand how our famous union can tell us what we can and can't do after we retire and we are receiving our earned, not conditional, benefits.

I really don't think it is anyones business what I do after I retire. I earned that money by working x number of years. Period.

 

[JonFrum]

JonFrum-
During a annual OJS ride with a supe whom I have a shred of respect for, we discussed this very thing.

supe: "you all didn't win your lawsuit?"
trickster: "what lawsuit?"
supe: "the lawsuit that says the union can't tell you what you can and can't do after you retire".
trickster: "this is the first I've heard of it".
supe: "you all earned this. For every week you work the company gives the famous union x number of dollars on your behalf. You don't work, you don't earn those benefits.".

So maybe you, JonFrum, can help me understand how our famous union can tell us what we can and can't do after we retire and we are receiving our earned, not conditional, benefits.

I really don't think it is anyones business what I do after I retire. I earned that money by working x number of years. Period.

The Pension Fund Trustees would say that they have a huge pile of money waiting to pay to you and other present and future retirees. This money is finite however. The more generous they are by letting you retire early, or by paying you more in each monthly pension check, the quicker they run low on cash, and eventually have to start cutting benefits and demanding higher contribution rates.

Pension funds create all sorts of annoying rules that urge potential retirees to postpone retirement. These rules keep the fund's assets from dwindling too fast.

The big problem is when an active participant retires, the fund takes a double hit. The fund no longer has the $7 per hour or so coming in, and they now have to pay out several thousand a month in pension benefits to the new retiree (and his surviving spouse) for several decades.

Restrictions on what work you can do after you retire may be unfairly written, but the basic idea is to discourage people from retireing early, and draining the fund, when they could in fact keep working a few more years.

I believe the restrictions only apply to retirees under age 70 or so. By Law after that you can work anywhere for as many hours as you wish. If you continued working for UPS, for example, you would receive your monthly pension check while working, and you would be increasing the future benefit amount as you continued to have contributions made on your behalf.