Thread regarding Chevron Corp. layoffs

1lih I see you not only have generally accepted intelligence but emotional intelligence as well! 2 great posts. I did the same as you and took 6 months of subsidized insurance and the enrolled in the affordable care act. For spouse and my self the exchanges for our state were phenomenal. Under $150 a month for me and my spouse for a GOLD HMO. I also took pension as an annuity and can live very comfortable. My 401k, and Roth IRA'so at retirement will give me a better life style then when I worked. The wild card for me stepping away has always been health insurance. My premiums would be sky high without the affordable care act. As an FYI the fines rise significantly this year if you do not have coverage. On hindsight I would have went the affordable care act from the beginning. It is better coverage and less hassle.

Thank you, @vpx. I appreciate your feedback to the employees as well. Communication and proper timing is important. The 6 months of subsidized COBRA through the 3rd party handlers, ADP, is likely to be the best course for the majority of retirees. Your monthly rate for medical (not dental) will be exactly the same amount. Be sure to put a reminder in your calendar to call Chevron HRSC at the BEGINNING of your 6th month in COBRA to let them know if you want to discontinue coverage when the month ends. Not doing so will result in the continuance of COBRA under non-subsidized rates. I know of some Chevron retirees who bypassed COBRA all-together and were added to their spouse's employer medical coverage. I for one took the 6 months of subsidized COBRA which came to an end in Nov 2015. I went without medical of any kind in December, then enrolled in Obamacare (www.healthcare.gov) starting in Jan 2016. Since I took my pension as a monthly annuity (I have no mortgage or debts) and can live comfortably enough with that income stream alone, my monthly premium for a good Silver level HMO is under $60 a month for me and spouse.

FYBkJNH-rne....what a great response....you appear to be a very high quality and caring person. Thanks for your feedback. One other note here is to make sure Cobra/ADP and Chevron HR Benefits know which direction you are going....1) Cobra for 6 months or 2) Chevron medical...these two groups do not talk as frequent as they should and we were billed for both programs! All worked out after a phone call clarification discussion, took some time. The HR service center folks are trying to help as much as they can here.

Yes, it seems they took my feedback and that of others. I'm glad to see they are providing 2 hours to present the info. HR provides a hard copy printout of all the slides presented, so suffice to take a pen or pencil and a short list of your key questions to the presentation. The key things to ask or take note of, are the following:

1) The timing and the process of when you will receive paperwork to continue your subsidized COBRA medical thru ADP COBRA Services (their mailing address is in Alpharetta, GA).

2) The timing and method to discontinue any Chevron benefit you intend to stop (for example: Supplemental Life and Dependant Life insurance). Don't expect Chevron to automatically discontinue this coverage for you when you are terminated. If you will not want it, let Chevron HR Service Center know the date you wish this coverage to stop, else you will be billed for it. Remember also that Chevron pays this coverage for you (in advance) on the 1st of each month.

3) You will want to think of a date when you want to commence your pension. You are not obligated to start taking your pension right upon termination. Some retirees wait and decide what exactly they want to do. Seek advice from a Certified Financial Advisor on whether an annuity or taking the lump sum is your best choice. You can schedule a free consultation with a Vanguard CFA to vet your best choices. You can even do a direct rollover of your pension lump sum into your ESIP 401k. This could be advantageous for those over 55, but not yet 59.5 years of age.

4) Ask HR how long you will remain on the Chevron payroll (at home) and what specific date will you be terminated, do you can apply for State Unemployment Benefits. In Texas, you can do this 100% online. Just Google the site for Texas Workforce Commission. Hopefully, the presentation will cover how you go about answering the question about the "lump sum severance" that Chevron is paying.

5) If you don't have hard copies of your payroll statements, be sure to save at least 3 years of your past payroll statements in PDF format. The Texas Workforce Commission will ask you to complete an application for unemployment benefits. Having at least 3 years of info on hand is a time saver.

Make good use of your time at the HR presentation. Have your list of questions ready. If not adequately handled at the meeting, get with your HR Business Partner as soon as possible and get your answers. Don't ever count they will take or return your calls after you are terminated. Just know you can still access everything (except the payroll statements) from the external website at www.hr2.chevron.com.

Best of luck to all.

@FYBkJNH-hfp looks like they took your feedback to heart as they are 2 hours this time around.

I went through one of these one-hour "Death by PowerPoint" presentations by HR last year. There were some good points to the slide show, but I had already known most of what was covered. I suppose HR is under the obligation to provide these presentations. After all, you will need to sign the attendance roster. The poor marks I gave HR was their quick run-through of the many slides and not allowing very little time for clarification questions as they covered each of many topics. At the end of the presentation, HR was already behind schedule for the other group waiting outside the conference room, so their Q&A segment was way too short to be beneficial.