After the company shuts down for good, what are the chances of the pension fund remaining strong enough to service all pension commitments?
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The latest annual report from the retirement fund seems to indicate that it's fully funded. Not sure how rising interest rates will affect their investment portfolio, but it seems like the pension fund is run better than the company itself.
Not quite right. I retired in 2018, and my pension is a fixed monthly amount for the rest of my life, not a fixed total amount for a fixed period of years. The payout amount per month is based on my maximum salary, years of employment (up to a max of 30), and age at the time the payments start (up to a max of 65).
Some VERO retirees were given credit for more years of service (3 years) than they completed, and also given credit for starting payments later (also 3 years), so a 27-year employee at age 62 could get the same max pension as if they worked for 30 years and collected at 65. The VERO bonus extra pension amount could be added to the lifetime monthly payment, or taken as a lump sum instead
Once Bose stops paying into the retirement fund, it's a question of whether the fund, as funded and managed, can last long enough to pay out all pension commitments.
At least recently (last 10 years), the pension was funded by Bose but managed by an external company. The total payouts were defined by a formula (based largely on tenure and salary), and the employee could choose some timeline (5 years, 10 years, ...) over which to receive the money (similar to an annuity in that regard).
If properly managed, the pension is OK. That's a big IF. If the pension fund runs dry after the company no longer exists, there is really no recourse for the pensioners.
I don’t know for sure but I think the company pension is handled separately from the company operations. They should be able to continue payouts.