The Enhanced Pension Plan, Coming Soon to a Mailbox Near You

Disenchanted

New Member
From the company that keeps on taking and taking, look for an enhanced pension plan coming soon to a mailbox near you.

Between killing partnership and loyalty, then capping salaries and implementing a forced distribution system to control merit increases, but not having the guts to call it what it is, a cost control initiative, I can’t wait for the new program that will of course benefit all us long time employees. Those smart bean counters at the top of the food chain have figured out a new way to get those of us who have been around awhile to leave at 55 without offering a buy-out. Genius!

While still just rumored, it comes from some pretty reliable sources! The details are to be released at the 2013 Management Conference. So here goes with the rumors and innuendo!

Those born in or before 1960 with be grandfathered into the early retirement age of 55, but your pension will be frozen at 55. If you stay longer, you will be forced into a 401k match program. If you have ever run those numbers, the years between 55 and 60 can have a huge impact on your monthly pension amount. In my case years 56 – 60 would add about $500 per month to my pension for each year I stay.

The good news, there is now nothing keeping me at UPS past age 55. I can get a 401k match at any company, and that company will get the benefit of my talents, training work ethic and loyality. The only loss is the 3% per year early retirement penalty. Now, for those born in 1961 through 1984, your early retirement age is being moved to 59, and guess what? Your pension also freezes at age 55 and years 56 and above are 401k matches. Just think about how much money the company will save and get rid of the long time employees to which they no longer want to be saddled. Pure genius. Scott and Curt are very smart men when it comes to money, but my bet is this is going to be penny wise and dollar foolish.

This will be the last nail in the coffin for cradle-to-grave employees and move UPS into the ranks of other average to below average companies who want to get everything out of you they can for five years and have you move on. IMHO, this is going to be bad for business, but hey, I haven’t been a partner with a voice in this organization since late 1999.

Now for their next act, my bet is that in 2016 when Obama Care begins to tax Cadillac healthcare plans, Scott and Curt will tell me how much they are going to save me in income taxes by moving us Obama Care. The plan that’s not good enough for Congress, but is good enough for everyone else.

People are our greatest asset. BS.
 

oldbrownguy

Well-Known Member
While still just rumored, it comes from some pretty reliable sources! The details are to be released at the 2013 Management Conference.

So when is the Management Conference? You know, nothing this current regime does surprises me anymore. I think Jim Casey just rolled over again..........
 

Dragon

Package Center Manager
Please, no bad news the day before we have to go back to work.....it makes for a terrible start for the week.
 

Fishsmell

New Member
I sure hope this is " all rumor" . We are going to lose enough great people in the next 3 to 5 due to retirement. If we make it logical to retire at 55 and no hope for future earnings, we will gut this great company. I consider myself no great loss with my 33 years of service, but look reverently upon some who will soon be eligible to leave.
 

constructively dissatisfi

Well-Known Member
It wouldn't be surprising at all to see them do something to reduce the company's exposure to uncontrollable future pension costs. It sucks, no doubt about it. But all big companies either have already gone through this or are in the process now. I'll hold off on forming an opinion until there are details from an official source. Keep in mind that even if they cap pensions, your monthly benefit still increases if you work longer. This is true even if the company stops making new contributions to your pension plan. By working longer, the same amount of money you've got in your pension bucket is divided by a smaller number of years they think you'll live. I'd be very surprised if the cap was on your monthly benefit. That would REALLY suck.
 

pretzel_man

Well-Known Member
I've heard similar information from similarly reliable sources.

I'll hold judgement until the details come out.

Today, retirement behavior at UPS is reversed from before. It used to be that 90% of people retired at 55. Today, 90% don't retire at 55.
 

oldbrownguy

Well-Known Member
this statement reinforces one of my previous posts. I said that in the good old days, one unit supervisors could retire with a nice stock portfolio and not worry about what their monthly pension would be because of the stock performance. Those days are gone.....10% of management were probably two units or greater. 90 % or there abouts were one unit. The game has changed..........and the numbers reflect it.
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
this statement reinforces one of my previous posts. I said that in the good old days, one unit supervisors could retire with a nice stock portfolio and not worry about what their monthly pension would be because of the stock performance. Those days are gone.....10% of management were probably two units or greater. 90 % or there abouts were one unit. The game has changed..........and the numbers reflect it.

It was good while it lasted!
 

beentheredonethat

Well-Known Member
I've heard similar information from similarly reliable sources.

I'll hold judgement until the details come out.

Today, retirement behavior at UPS is reversed from before. It used to be that 90% of people retired at 55. Today, 90% don't retire at 55.

I can just see the wording from UPS corporate. "Due to the desires from our mgmt team, we recognize that UPS mgmt don't wish to retire at 55, so we enhanced the pension plan to coincide with what they have expressed to us"..
 

beentheredonethat

Well-Known Member
If this is true, I'm not really surprised. I kind of assumed we would get enhanced with the pension. I assumed that being able to retire at 59 was about as good as we would get. I wasn't thinking of the cap on benefits if we stayed longer. I was planning myself to stay til 59 or 60 minimum then permanently retire. Now, it may be closer to leave at 59 and work elsewhere for 5+ years.
 

Bamboozled

Active Member
It's one thing to the change pension rules on younger people who have enough time to financially plan for it, its another to hurt people who have 25+ years and are too old to make up the difference.

You are told for years what your pension is with the calculator and that you can leave at 55. Now there are rumors they want to change it right before the finish line? Unacceptable . It is too "Enron-Like". When you are promised one thing and then at the end, given another, the Law calls that "Bait and Switch" or "Theft By Deception". If anything like this happens the law might not be on thier side.

The powers that be should lead by example and start by cutting thier own benefits. All we see is they take from us and give to themselves in the form of stock and dividends.

Its bad enough our pensions are considerably lower than the Teamsters and Mechanics Union, now they want us to work to 59? Some of us have been here right out of high school it's like a death sentence. If it were to happen it needs to include a formula with years of service. If you started at 19, early retirement at 59 would be with 40 years.

It seems sometimes rumors are started to either see what the reaction is, or to give a worst case scenario so when the real truth comes out its not as bad.

I actually heard a similar rumor about 6 months ago, but the cut off date was 1965 and after, which would make more sense because how can you tell someone who is 50 with 31 years you have to work 9 more years?
 

StuckForLonger

New Member
So very sad. As a '61 guy myself, it's really sad.

​The company we joined up for 26 years ago was a partnership. Today it's nothing more than a money churning machine. No one works for each other anymore.
 

oldbrownguy

Well-Known Member
Bamboozled, you need to realize that THEY DONT CARE !!. Look how they have continued to take from us the past few years. They (BOD-Compensation Comm) meet regularly to figure out how to keep the Teamsters happy and how to screw the management team. Then they go home and sleep peacefully at night. I used to get to work at 7:30 everyday and leave at 6. I hardly took any breaks or lunches and I didnt care. Now, I am in a position where I can regulate my hours. I can work from home and I dont have to be in an office every day. So, instead of 12 hour days, I work 7 to 8, take a nice lunch and dont feel bad about it either. A friend told me if I want a raise I need to work less hours. So screw the BOD......They only care about Wall Street and each other.....and, the Teamsters.....And I probably dont have that in the right order.
 
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