I will be 56 in a couple months - 34 years with T - I am 99% sure I am leaving. I was hoping to hold on until 60, but...It's a c-ap shoot - if I stay I can be surplussed at any time - if I leave they can take away retirement subsidy at any time....
I am curious to hear what everyone's thought process is - I realize we all have different situations, etc...
Good luck to all of you!
AON just matched me up with Aetna Gold PPO beginining in April. The monhly premium is $0 plus they give me $75 per month towards my Medicsre B which is $144. My plan also includes Dental and Vision. They also give you $2700 per year towards out of pocket expenses. Any unused will be rolled over/banked towards the following year. My spouse will remain on ATT Corporate Medical plan until Medicare eligible. My spouse will drop from Aetna Gold to Silver, dropping their monthly premium to $400. This will be a significant savings in premiums being on a fixed income.
iI do not understand why anyone would stay here after 62 years old and Rule75? I had enough and left. Did I miss something??
Not leaving. I am 58 and have 37 years. If they want people off the payroll offer Incentive.
Re: previous post, “The most recent announcement.....pre-65 healthcare subsidy, that they will not receive it unless they retire in 2021.” For sure you will not receive it if you retire after 2021, but there’s also NO guarantee they won’t make another change in 2022, or 2023, or 2024 and take it away later. Is there anywhere in writing that says if you retire in 2021 you are guaranteed medical supplement until age 65??
"Recommend reviewing, if you can locate the document, an HR Update posted for employees in March, 2018 that the company would fund the HRA benefit only to 2023. It should not be a surprise, then, that the company is following through"
You don't seem to understand that we're not talking about the same thing. The most recent announcement is different from, and unrelated to whatever will happen to retiree's HRA benefit after 2023 (news flash: that's going to go away). And you're correct, changes to the HRA funding and the pending "reevaluation" in 2023 were announced some time ago.
The most recent announcement is informing MR75 eligible active employees that are eligible for pre-65 healthcare subsidy, that they will not receive it unless they retire in 2021. Not the same thing as the Medicare HRA thing you're talking about.
I am 50 with 26 years and meet MR75. I am staying working. My assumption, and its probably a safe one, is that they will not fund the supplemental health insurance after 2023 for retirees. So what would I do for health insurance for 12 to 13 years. I am also too far from the 59.5 to touch my 401k without penalties. So either way, whether I stay and get laid off or go, I will have to get another job. So it buys me absolutely nothing to leave and take the insurance for two years. If i was a few years older, it may have been a different answer.
I have to look at all the numbers. I won't be eligible for Medicare for a number of years, and I carry my husband and my son on my insurance as well.
Recommend reviewing, if you can locate the document, an HR Update posted for employees in March, 2018 that the company would fund the HRA benefit only to 2023. It should not be a surprise, then, that the company is following through. They also posted updates that would affect retiree medical benefits in another update in early 2020.
And although I am completely empathetic to colleagues who these policies will adversely affect; this should be a wake up call for those who don’t read, research, or document policy/processes that directly impact employees. When I read the 2018 update, I reached out to several employees asking for their reaction—none had read it. And now, here we are.......
I picked the "best care" for this year as in March my husband will turn 65 & my single healthcare will drop to $390/month.
I picked the Aetna silver plan for an individual and it is only $120 a moth for Medical. I chose the Gold dental and then vision. All total $168.
Why are you paying so much more? Geez.
They will cancel the subsidy in 2023.
Stay, work less, get paid.
The company informed us all that it is not a career, but just a paycheck.
“I am 59 with 40 years and was hoping to stay until age 62”
Jesus. Look no further than this situation right here to see why this company has workforce issues. Retire already, you’re already 5-10 years past when you should have retired.
Stay. You are not guaranteed pre-65 medical insurance subsidy if you retire in 2021. They can take that away any time. In 2022 or 2023 they can take it away! Collect your income over the next few years and max out your HSA which you can then use to pay for medical insurance. The money you make in income will outweigh the extra cost of medical until age 65
I am 59 with 40 years and was hoping to stay until age 62. I have no confidence that I’ll be able to eek out another 6 years to age 65 and I definitely don’t want to pay $1600/month for benefits along with a high deductible as well. I too believe the company will involuntary those that stay within 1-2 years and continue to cut benefits in any way they can. I’ll be leaving 4Q21.
If you’re retired financial position hinges on the possible lose of the insurance subsidy, then you have issues staying Employed will not fix. If you leave, your pre 65 health insurance monthly premium will continue at the current company/retiree split if you are union until the end of the existing contract. After that plan on annual increases to your monthly premium. At 65 don’t plan on the subsidy for buying supplemental insurance being available. If you are in a position where that subsidy is critical, then you need to find other funding opportunities outside of your pension.
If you are staying, then you need to stay until you reach 65 to minimize the financial loss of the pre 65 insurance subsidy and the premium increases that you would incur as a retiree. Mine has gone up $125 a month after the end of the last contract. Staying will not allow you enough time to claw back the loss. Leaving allows you to keep the company pre 65 subsidy and find other limited employment if you wish or need. After 2023 everyone needs to plan on the loss of the medicare supplemental insurance subsidy. I highly doubt it will be extended.
I think unions have more power in this game than manager level employees.
First, they can go on strike, whereas management have no power to strike.
Second, with a Democrat administration that is friendly to unions, the pressure on AT&T will be immense if they try to take benefits away from unions, particularly if company wants to get some contract for broadband enhancement out of whatever infrastructure law is eventually approved by congress.
I’m craft and have a very sneaky suspicion T will be informing the union at the next CBA in 1/22 they will be eliminating the health care subsidy For anyone not retiring prior to 1/23 or best case scenerio 1/24
I was let go in 2004, at that time my age & service equaled 65, so the rules were changed & I was able to stay under AT&T benefits. In the beginning, the prices for my husband & I were reasonable. This year, for 2 us with the best plan it's $975 a month (including dental & vision). I picked the best care for this year as in March my husband will turn 65 & my single healthcare will drop to $390/month. We just had a call with AON last week regarding the HSA, we were told if he doesn't pick a plan that AON offers we won't get the HSA money for him. In addition the HSA will be re-evaluated/renegotiated for 2024 - it's good through 2023, which is the year I will turn 65. It's a tough call on what to do with so much uncertainty, and everyone is in a different financial situation.
So hard to make informed, intelligent, important decisions when nothing is guaranteed.
Good luck, everyone!
Same boat. Early 50's though. I have been on the spouse's medical for the last 5 or more years as T's became more expensive and their offering was better. But I don't know that we will have that option until Medicare, I was counting on T as a backup. I think the other X factor is what will happen with healthcare at a national level? Impossible for us to know. Medicare for all may happen, it seems employer provided healthcare could eventually go away. I'm not opining either way, just something to consider.
I think I am staying, F 'em. May very well get laid off in 2022, who knows? I firmly believe they will eventually screw those that leave this year out of the subsidy anyway. May take a year or 2, but they will.
I am 58. I am definitely staying. We get the MVO and bonus and every month of employment is a month closer to being 65. I have concerns about wife but she is younger and can eventually get a job. Between two of us we can find health care from a job. Getting a paycheck like AT&T currently pays me (a little over 100,000) is very difficult at my age and in this economy.
Do your homework and get financial advice. Whether you’re close to Medicare eligible or not, healthcare costs will be one of the biggest factors in retirement. And, let me assure you... quality healthcare coverage once you’re Medicare eligible is not cheap.
Concerns about finding employment after age 50 is a real issue. But now is not the time to roll the dice and hope for the best.
Put pen to paper, run the retirement calculator offered via Fidelity, run a Social Security estimate and talk to financial specialist.
Remember, assume you’ll be leaving the company perhaps sooner than you’d planned, and do the work to secure the best exit strategy you can.
Good luck.
Same boat as OP, 55 with 31 years. I can't risk $1500.00 mth. in plan costs. Some have suggested, just stay and work as long as possible, not a good strategy if you need 10 more years to Medicare especially with the frequency of downsizing. It's simply not worth the calculated risk in staying. Yes, they could certainly decide later to change the subsidy but let's face it, that is an unknown, what is known is that no one on the upper end of the tenure scale will survive in the company 5 or 10 more years...plain fact.
If I were in my 50's and MR75 eligible and I had no other source for health insurance I would definitely get out of the $high-level Ratty and Stinky created. But if is VERY difficult to get jobs in your 50's. You get interviews and once potential employers figure out your age you never hear back from them again.
I am in my 60's so it is even worse. I might stick it out just to try to milk it out of them as much as possible as I do have access to other health insurance and perhaps they will have an MVO or whacking next year. But I have a feeling that Stinky will have more claw backs in store for us.
Ratty is the high-level. motherf*cker that deserves to be clawed back since he created this $hithole. No us grunts!
I'll be leaving for sure. If the MVO or Surplus Boat comes by then I'll jump on that. If not, then I'll leave in the 4th Qtr.
It's probably best to get out in a situation like this. They're committed to running off anyone over 50 & if you don't go now, they're surely going to take you down later and you won't have the subsidy.
I am in very similar situation, 57, 34 years of service, was hoping to work to 60 or 61, but the thought of paying almost 1,600 a month for Benefits that I earned staying here this long says to me it is time to leave now. I can look for consulting gig somewhere as I wont need Benefits :). It is frustrating and disappointing but it is what it is. Yes they could down the line take this away but I will deal with that if / when it happens and to your point they will surplus old timers starting in 2022 so I might as well leave WITH the benefits subsidy I earned. I have talked to many in same boat and they are all leaning same way, which is probably what the company wanted eliminating the vacation week and benefits subsidy were clear signs