Is Ford considering this for the remaining GRP eligible employees?
23 replies (most recent on top)
@1znk+1kcUaFr3 Life must be grand seeing all rainbows and unicorns all the time.
Those of us that live in reality and aren't naive know better. Apparently you've not seen this happen at other companies. Retirements are NEVER guaranteed. Ever.
There is a lot of incorrect information on this post. 1.) Ford's pension is presently fully funded and in a trust. This means that Ford has funded present and projected future payments to retirees and these funds are protected. If Ford goes bankrupt they cannot use money in this trust. 2.) You cannot take full retirement until you have 30 years (at any age), or you are at least 55 with 10 years.
PBGC will cover a fraction of your pension, 50%-60%.
Downriver resident here with neighbors who experienced bankruptcies of local steel companies (McClouth steel)
It does NOT matter if a pension plan is fully funded or not. If the company gets into financial trouble they can, and likely WILL, change the pension. Wake up, before it is too late for you.
If you don't believe me, contact the PBGG yourself. If they are honest they will tell you your pension would NOT be 100% guaranteed, should the company go belly up.
Ask folks from the steel mills, garbage companies and other industries that have been screwed over they years.
1pji is correct. Normal retirement is 30yrs or age 55 and 10yrs. If you leave sooner, you can take you lump sum immediately but lose out on the supplemental benefit for retirees under age 62 and health care benefits.
Why don't you people read the benefits materials? If you aren't 55 or have 30 years you miss out on the interim/early retirement supplement and health care benefits, but you do not lose your accumulated pension benefits.
Yes, it is possible to collect the lump sum value of your pension prior to 55 or 30 years. It is greatly reduced, but you can get it. If you want the monthly check, you will have to wait until 65.
As a previous poster mentioned, a 49 year old with 27 years can only take the contributory portion of their pension. They lose out on the ~$500k that kicks in at 30 years. So, yes, they can retire, but only take the contributory portion.
I just met someone who got the lump sum and was under 55 and less than 30 years. I was surprised as well, as I didn't think this was possible.
The only lump sum that a 27 year employee at age 49 could get would be the return of their contributions. With that service and age, they were not eligible for the pension annuity.
They bridge some LL but not all. If they wanted them to retire on good terms they bridged them.
Now GSR who were broomed were not bridged.
There is some sort of 3 year bridge rule for people within 3 years of 30 years. Past Ford employees sued Ford about it and settled.
"It’s 30 years of service regardless of age, not 20. If it were 20 I know several people who would have left."
Really, then how do you explain my former LL6 that had 27 years in and was just 49? He retired after he was SISP'd in April & took the lump sum. he would have no reason to lie about it. I would your other friends are the ones mis-informed or just hanging around like dead men walking until they get cut. I did read my benefits, trust me, as I was soon SISP'd too a few months later....and I also retired, too.
It’s 30 years of service regardless of age, not 20.
If it were 20 I know several people who would have left.
It’s always been 30 years of service, or age 55 and at least 10 years or service.
You should read your benefits guide.
"If you started here straight out of college in 97,98,99,2000,etc. you are still in your 40s on the pension plan…."
Not true - you are not stuck. I had a former boss that was SISP in April. He was only 49, and he had 27 years in and when they shitcanned him and he elected to also retire and take the pension lump sum. I believe the rules are: (1) if you are over 55 and have 10 years, you can retire; (2) if you have more than 20 years in, you can retire, as well, regardless of age.
If you decided to take the pension money, it needs to go into a qualified 401K or IRA, else you'll get taxed on the pension payout (except the voluntary self-contribution to the pension.....fun fact is that is not taxable, so you can use that money now if you want)
So don't wait anymore; yeah, you missed the November cut off, so your pension is worth less, but the Fed just raised rates again (albeit at a lower rate of increase) so I doubt they are coming down anytime soon...so you are not going to recover what you lost, anyway, not likely before Ford shitcans you, too. Take it from me, much easier to find another job when you are already employed than not....
There are many of us that are not age or service years eligible to retire, but were hired before 2004. We are stuck here at the whim of the company.
If you started here straight out of college in 97,98,99,2000,etc. you are still in your 40s on the pension plan….
If they had any heart, they should convert current pension holders to 401K. You see, 401K's are protected during bankruptcy, because it is your money now....it is not a corporate liability. However, pensions are corporate liabilities, and can go away if the bankrupt company's assets are less than the pension's:
"We have seen instances where a company files for bankruptcy and the total dollar amount owed to the pension plan is larger than the total assets of the company. When this happens, the bankruptcy courts may allow the company to terminate the plan and the PBGC is then forced to step in and continue the pension payments to the employees. While this seems like a great system since up until now that system has worked as an effective safety net for these failed pension plans, the PBGC in its most recent annual report is waiving a red flag that it faces insolvency if Congress does not make changes to the laws that govern the premium payments to the PBGC."
See above - even fully funded, Ford could (and likely would) seek to terminate the pension plan to save future liability payments and use that money to pay off creditors...which means employees get screwed again.
I would not count on Ford converting pensions, tho - so those that still have one and are vested, I would think again about leaving in 2023.
I think they would freeze the pensions, like GM did MANY years ago, before converting to a lump sum.
For those that are wishfully thinking this is impossible, wakeup. And you'll only have yourselves to blame. You've had ample opportunity to take the lump sum, yet you've gambled thinking the company would do right by you. ROFLMAO
Look at August! Lots of folks with 20, 25, 30, even 35 years plus were summarily broomed. The company doesn't care about you, your finances, or your retirement. Stop trusting in a company that is already on slippery financial footing. (If you don't believe that look at the debt to cash ratio! Companies with better ratios have filed for bankruptcy!) Take control of your own life and your own future. Stop counting on something that will never be there.
No.
- plan is fully funded
- plan is fully funded
- plan is fully funded
It costs $100'sM to buy an annuity from an insurance company, it not free to Ford.
And 1000 people just took the lump sum which has the finance people dancing a jig.
That would be horrid.
It is possible that the company will do it when interest rates are up and the numbers of GRP are low. Exactly when though, it is hard to say.
no