# Is Your Pension What You Thought It Would Be?



## fmdog44 (Nov 6, 2019)

I never had a pension and I remember my dad who worked his entre life for one company and did quite well but was not happy when he learned what his pension would be. Do you think you got a fair shake with yours?


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## Floridatennisplayer (Nov 7, 2019)

What’s a pension?


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## Ken N Tx (Nov 7, 2019)

fmdog44 said:


> I never had a pension and I remember my dad who worked his entre life for one company and did quite well but was not happy when he learned what his pension would be. Do you think you got a fair shake with yours?


The company I was with started a pension plan 3 years before I retired.. I had enough money in it to pay one years cobra insurance..


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## Aunt Bea (Nov 7, 2019)

This thread made me think of the days when a railroad pension was considered the rock-solid gold standard retirement.  I had a great uncle that retired from the railroad and my grandparents always said he was _comfortable_ with his railroad pension.

When I started working I had a typical pension plan, about halfway through my working life the bean counters decided to drop the pension plan to limit future liability/expense.

They came up with a scheme where they would deposit a certain amount, based on age and length of service, into an account that would earn interest based on a Tbill index.  At retirement/separation we were allowed to take the money and run or convert it into an annuity.  I took the cash and have no regrets about my decision. 

IMO it was a fair shake because I was not required to pay into either plan and also because each year we received statements explaining approximately what we had and what it would translate into in the form of monthly payments.


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## Uptosnuff (Nov 7, 2019)

Next year, I will have worked for this company for 20 years.  They are one of the few companies left in the U.S. with a decent pension plan.  I know approximately the pension I will get when I retire in a couple of years.  For my length of service, I think the amount I'll receive is good.

My husband will be receiving money from a couple of different pensions.  A RR pension and a pension from the same company I work for.  He wasn't at these companies all that long, about 5-7 year time frame for each.  Even so, he will get a pretty decent amount of pension.  The RR pension will be the lesser of the two.

So, yeah, for the most part we are very happy with the amount we will get in our pensions.


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## Don M. (Nov 7, 2019)

Pensions are rapidly becoming a thing of the past....less than 15% of the companies offer today's employees a defined pension.  Unions are declining and even the Federal and State government plans are coming under increasing stress.  More and more, employees are going to have to invest in a decent 401K, etc., if they expect to have anything saved up for their retirement.


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## Camper6 (Nov 7, 2019)

Ha . I worked 22 years for a company in the grain industry that was rock solid or so I thought.

They decided to sell to another company.  So then the pensions didn't come to full maturity where the company adds their portion.  That's the type of pension it was.

I could have left it in and I would receive $90 a month when I was 65.

So I pulled the cash and reinvested it and went  to work for another company.

Luckily in Canada we also have the Canada Pension Plan which the employer contributes to.

I have the other pension to pull from but the government sets a limit on the maximum you can take out each year. That's a bummer.  I need the money now.

But with the Canada Pension, and the Old Age pension and the other pension I can live pretty well but not high on the hog.

The problem is most workers have no idea what their pension consists of and what they will have when they retire.


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## Camper6 (Nov 7, 2019)

Uptosnuff said:


> Next year, I will have worked for this company for 20 years.  They are one of the few companies left in the U.S. with a decent pension plan.  I know approximately the pension I will get when I retire in a couple of years.  For my length of service, I think the amount I'll receive is good.
> 
> My husband will be receiving money from a couple of different pensions.  A RR pension and a pension from the same company I work for.  He wasn't at these companies all that long, about 5-7 year time frame for each.  Even so, he will get a pretty decent amount of pension.  The RR pension will be the lesser of the two.
> 
> So, yeah, for the most part we are very happy with the amount we will get in our pensions.


Aha.  But have a look at survivor benefits.  When my wife died I was shocked at how little I would get from her pension.  It's o.k. if you are getting two incomes now but what happens when one of the partners dies?  It's worth looking into.


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## Uptosnuff (Nov 7, 2019)

Good point, Camper.  According to my pension plan, I can choose how much survivor benefit I want.  Anywhere from 25% to 100%.  Or, I believe I can waive the survivor benefit if I want and my monthly pay will increase.  This is a really good discussion point to have with your spouse.  We both think there is a very good chance of me outliving him, so that is going to affect how much survivor benefit I choose.


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## Grampa Don (Nov 7, 2019)

I was lucky.  I worked for a medium size commercial company with no pension plan that was bought by a major defense contractor that had one.  I immediately signed up for the 1% deduction from my pay check to join it.  Now, it's a significant part of my income.

When I retired I was offered the choice of continued payments of the same amount for my wife if I die first, with smaller payments, or no survival benefits for her and higher payments.  I selected the lower payments.  I had a friend whose Dad made the other choice and died a couple years after retiring.  His Mom could have used the money.

Don


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## Camper6 (Nov 7, 2019)

The secret of retiring is living. Decisions, decisions.


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## fmdog44 (Nov 7, 2019)

I grew up in a town that had the Rock Island Railroad and a lot of folks went to work for them at a young age. They paid very well and had great benefits and pensions. I wonder how their package looks now if they are still in business.


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## DaveA (Nov 7, 2019)

I retired with a defined benefit pension along with supplementary health care for myself and my wife in case I pre-decease her.  We pay 10% of the health plan cost.  So far I've "milked" the plan for 27 years.  I was once told that the pension plan had been designed eons ago, with a payout expectancy of 7 to 10 years?  Doesn't sound much like today's world.


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## Uptosnuff (Nov 7, 2019)

7 to 10 years?  Wow.  There are a lot of people in my company that were eligible to retire in their mid-50's.  That means some of them will be pulling from the pension fund for a good 40 years.  No wonder pension funds are going the way of the dinosaur.  7 to 10 years, I can see, but 40 years?  That's an awful long time for a pay out.  That's longer than they were even working at the company for Pete's sake.


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## rkunsaw (Nov 7, 2019)

I took a lower amount from my pension plan so my wife will get 100% if I die first. The pension amount is only half of what I get from social security but it sure helps make retirement more comfortable.


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## Catlady (Nov 7, 2019)

Aunt Bea said:


> At retirement/separation we were allowed to take the money and run or convert it into an annuity.  I took the cash and have no regrets about my decision.



I worked sixteen years for an electric utility and got a nice pension.  At retirement they offered me cash or an annuity.  I asked my CPA for an opinion and she said get the annuity (she would earn a commission of course).  I decided to get the cash and also have no regrets.  I used the full amount to pay off my mortgage.


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## 911 (Nov 7, 2019)

I am well satisfied. There’s a lot to be said for having a state job back since the ‘70’s. It’s also helpful being a union member. If I would have retired under the 25 and out program, I would have received about 60% of my salary. Staying another 12 years took it up to 79%. Not to mention the benefit package.


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## DaveA (Nov 7, 2019)

Uptosnuff said:


> 7 to 10 years?  Wow.  There are a lot of people in my company that were eligible to retire in their mid-50's.  That means some of them will be pulling from the pension fund for a good 40 years.  No wonder pension funds are going the way of the dinosaur.  7 to 10 years, I can see, but 40 years?  That's an awful long time for a pay out.  That's longer than they were even working at the company for Pete's sake.


I believe the ( at least in my system) 7 to 10 years was based on people working 'til 62/65 and the life expectancy was in the early 70's at the time.  I retired at 59 and that was taking advantage of an early retirement offer. Other than that, I would have had to work until 63 to reach my max. retirement percentage of 80%.


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## OneEyedDiva (Nov 9, 2019)

Initially yes. I retired at age 50. But since my 51st birthday was only a month away and they paid me based on 51, I lost a slightly less percentage than if the state had based it on age 50.  The full retirement age for state workers at the time was 55 with 25 or more years of service. Over the past several years my pension is not what I expected it to be by now because we used to get nice COLAs annually.  Former Governor Christie stopped the COLAs permanently.  Bummer... but I guess it was necessary to prevent our system from going even deeper in the hole (it was billions underfunded). I feel blessed to be among those who get a pension. Nothing like getting a steady income that covers my monthly expenses without making me feel strapped.  Like 911 I also have a great health insurance-prescription plan.


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## gamboolman (Nov 24, 2019)

I am planning to retire effective end of December.  So ~5 weeks to go and ms gamboolgal and I will leave Nigeria for the last time. 

After ~42 year in the oilpatch and the last ~17 years working in Africa, we are ready to go to pasture.

Ms. gamboolgal and I are fortunate in that Megaoil Corporation had a Pension Plan.  

We have a choice of a Pension or Lump Sum.  Since the Pension is not Cost of Living Adjusted we have decided to take the Lump Sum.  The reason is we are scared of inflation.

We are satisfied with the Lump Sum amount.  If the pension had been COLA we would have took it in a heart beat.


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