Do you have a pension?

[underpants]

45 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes
	31 (69%)
	No
	14 (31%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[dhol82]

1. How many people still do?

I thought they had been basically wiped out by now.

[dubyadiprecession]

3. Not state pensions.

[doc03]

2. Yes I do, I worked 40 plus years for it and have actually been

told right here on DU our pensions should be deducted from our SS.

[dhol82]

10. Just as a question -

From what organization are you getting the pension?
That is so unusual in these days.
I have no problem with you receiving one. I applaud the fact that you can.

[doc03]

18. Believe it or not I get three. I get one from the PBGC for a

pension plan that went under back in 1985. I get a pension from the former owner of the company
I worked for, that pension was frozen in 2003 when the company was sold to a new owner. I get another
pension from the United Steelworkers Union for the years I worked under the new owner from 2003 to 2009
when the company closed. All together they are not a huge amount of money, maybe a third of what an auto
worker gets with the same time. You may not know what the PBGC is, it is the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
it is a semi government corporation like the FDIC. It has absorbed so many bankrupt plans it has billions more
liabilities than assets. I look for the Republicans to destroy it. The one I get from the company so far is just
borderline funded and if it goes under it would go into the already underfunded PBGC. So far the one I get
from the Union is in fairly good shape.

[Ms. Toad]

43. Mine is, essentially.

Every year i contribute to a state retirement plan, a $0 is added to my 40 year average on which SS is based.

AND adding insult to injury

A deduction is made from my (already lower) SS because I have a completely separate pension.

One or the other is fair - but not hitting me twice.

And don't even get me started on allegations of "double dipping," since no one bats an eyelash at people drawing social security who are still working in the job that funded it. Once I retire, I can sit home and twiddle my thumbs and draw my pension - or I should be able to continue to be a contributing member of society in the job that funded my pension (or anyplace else). My pension is based on years of service and contributions. It doesn't cost my current employer any more to pay me than it would to pay anyone else - regardless of whether I'm drawing a pension or not.

Not that i have a soapbox about this, or anything.

[trixie2]

57. Our pension has the same rules

Once you get your pension you can't work anywhere where the pension is available. So I can't sub at a library that has or even once had the same pension plan even though subs don't get any benefits.

[panader0]

4. Bricklayer for forty years--no pension.

But my Social Security went up two dollars this year!

[a kennedy]

9. My SS went up 1.50 and my supplemental health insurance went up 20.00

a month....so a net loss again. D*mn.

[doc03]

21. Same here my Medicare took all my SS COLA and my supplement went up $15.65 a month.

[femmocrat]

5. Why do you ask?

??

[spanone]

6. does social security count?

[GP6971]

7. Yes, but a very little amount

I was 5 years into my job when they stopped the pension plan and went to 401s with a crappy 2% match.

[True Dough]

25. Matching is much more common these days

I understand that pensions are entirely too rich for some corporations, but the pendulum has swung too far the other way. The minimum for matching should be 5%, if the employee can afford to spare that much off of his/her pay check.

[GP6971]

27. My current employer contributes 5%

The company next door contributes 8.5%

[True Dough]

33. Sounds like you should apply next door! ;)

Seriously, 8.5% is reasonable. I would be happy with that!

[GP6971]

35. I would too

Not my field though...they're an IT company.

[RedWedge]

8. My household has more than one.

[mnhtnbb]

11. I do not but my husband does

from his 20 years of working for the VA.

[mnhtnbb]

42. My husband is pre-baby boomer since he was born in 1942.

And we also benefit from both having BCBS Federal health insurance as our 'gap' programs now
that we're both on Medicare. ( His BCBS Federal plan has covered us since he retired from the VA
in the early 90's.)

[Polly Hennessey]

12. Pension

I am under the old CSRS federal retirement. My pension is also attached to any cost-of-living adjustments. When I was younger I decided to stay with the pension plan instead of switching to the FERS plan. Bettter yet I was also able to contribute to the FERS plan but with no matching government contribution. I will always be thankful that I had the common sense to realize that some day I would no longer be young. Guess what that day finally came.

[oneshooter]

13. No pension, just my savings from three careers.

[brooklynite]

14. NYS Government - defined benefit

Currently about $72,000 a year

[Buckeye_Democrat]

15. Wow. I'm surprised by the number of pensioners.

I'd be curious if they're mostly baby boomers?

Well, good for them.

[frazzled]

17. I think people might be confusing pensions with 401k's or other savings plans

Perhaps if it asked "defined benefit pension"? Or maybe we have a lot of teachers and policemen here.

I don't know anyone who has a pension (except for a friend who worked as a teacher for about 20+ years). But then most everyone I knows works in higher education (college or university) or the arts (museums). No pensions there, but they do have 401k's to which one can contribute. But that's not a pension. A pension is like a guaranteed salary after retirement.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

20. Yeah, maybe that's it.

I don't personally know anyone in my age group (Generation X) or younger that has a pension, although I know those people exist around the country. When unions were stronger around here, sure.

[True Dough]

26. The vast majority of people I know with pensions

were longtime civil servants or they were in the military. Definitely fewer workplaces offer pensions these days.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

28. This DU poll seems odd so far, given the overall stats.

http://www.mybudget360.com/pension-death-percent-of-americans-with-a-pension-defined-benefit-contribution/

38 percent of the workforce had access to a pension in 1980 and now it is down to 13 percent as of 2008. But this has trended even lower over the last seven years as the crisis has given more pretext to companies to chop benefits.

[etherealtruth]

38. I think we (DU) skew older

I have a 401 K, but no pension ... early 50s

[Yupster]

62. I think we also have a lot more government workers, teachers

than a random grouping.

Those are the groups most likely to have pensions today.

Of course social security is a pension so if you include that almost everyone has one.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

64. Good point. I didn't consider Social Security when I answered. n/t

[Yupster]

65. Incidentlyy, other than social security,

I do not have a pension, just a 401k. I voted no assuming they didn't mean to include FICA.

[obamanut2012]

53. State universities do indeed have pensions

as do many, many other state employees.

[WillowTree]

68. I'm not confused at all. Two pensions.

Won't start collecting the second one until I retire from my current employer. Neither is from any government entity, by the way.

It's kind of patronizing to assume that people of retirement age are unclear as to whether we are collecting a 401K or an actual pension.

[underpants]

40. I got in 3 moths before a shift to a 401 plan

Yes I am surprised by the number as well.

[Ms. Toad]

46. Yup. Baby boomer.

Started teaching in a state school in '78. I left my money in the pension plan when I left teaching after 11 years. I've got bits and pieces in other state systems (3, to be precise) for a total of around 18 years now. They all combine when I retire - if I'm lucky - at 72 (when I have 30 years of service).

Defined benefit plan for however long I live - or take my money out and take my chances that I'm smarter than the average investment bear. I'm no dummy. Any money I ever put in has stayed there.

And - I recently went from a very high paying job to a very low (at least compared to my training) job (about a 60% drop in income). But after being here 5 years it will double the base on which my retirement pay is figured. Assuming I live as long as my parents & grandparents, every penny I gave up comes back to me in retirement. . . . After 5 years, the added benefit for each additional year is much smaller, so I'll re-evaluate then.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

48. Nice job saving for retirement!

[bluecollar2]

16. I do

But my employer took the company into bankruptcy to void our contract.

They had several billion in cash on hand at the time...

[MichMary]

19. Baby Boomer here

I don't have one - I was mostly a stay-at-home mom, worked maybe 10 years, off and on.

My dh, however, has four. His company was bought and sold throughout the 80's and 90's, and through various flukes and happenstance, he got vested in four plans. He also has a healthy 401k. Between the 401k, the pensions, and Social Security, we will be all right; will probably have a higher income after retirement than we have now. (Although, we will have to find health insurance, so . . .)

I didn't really know how to answer the question, since I don't have a pension, but will have the benefit of one.

[appleannie1943]

22. Ours is enough to pay for our drug program and our health insurance. Sadly, it probably won't much

longer. My hubby has cancer and his treatment has cost close to a half million so far. If Obamacare is repealed, I have no doubt the insurance company will drop us faster than a roadrunner with a coyote on it's ass.

[appleannie1943]

31. I am 73

[sinkingfeeling]

23. Yes, 30 years with IBM. Also have a 403b from 14 years

at a state University. And SS.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

24. I'd be curious to see ages.

[frazzled]

32. Very few people of any ages, if they weren't a government employee or union member ...

got or have a pension of any sort. Yes, some large companies did used to provide pensions, but that pretty much vanished by the 1990s.

My father recently passed away at age 100, and worked until age 75. He never had a pension.
I am a boomer, and--not knowing anyone who worked for a large corporation--I don't know anyone besides public school teacher friends who have a pension.

As of 2011, "just 14 percent of non-union employees had pensions, according to BLS."
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/10/17/good-question-how-many-of-us-still-get-a-pension/

That is why it is so surprising that such a large percentage here have pensions.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

61. Thats why I was curious about ages. The percentage seems way high.

[radical noodle]

29. I have two and my husband has one

One is from the IBEW for the years I spent as the controller of a union electrical construction company. The other is from another union employer that provided us with SEP funds for a pension. My husband has an ISTA (Indiana State Teachers Association) pension. Also have Social Security. None are 401K funds but my husband also has 403B funds and we have savings too.

We are already retired both 69.

[Skittles]

30. a frozen pension

[HeartachesNhangovers]

34. I'm 55 and retired at 54 with ...

a tiny pension ($202 / month) from a utility company I worked at as my first "real" job, plus a more substantial pension I have from working at a regional (not city, not county, not state) government agency in CA for 27 years; plus I qualify for SS in the future, although the benefit will be low because I didn't contribute to SS after I left the utility job. My wife is "retired" which just means she stopped working when I retired. She also qualifies for SS, but can't get it for 14 years at the earliest, although she probably won't start collecting for 20 years.

Altogether, the pensions provide about the US median household income - $60,000 / year. On top of that, the agency retirement pays about $1,700 / month for health coverage (medical, dental, vision). Obviously, this a great deal.

[ben_thayer]

36. Yes, fortunately.

Through County government/AFSCME. I also have SS retirement benefits which allowed us to keep our home when my wife lost her job after I retired from the County.

[yagotme]

58. AFSCME member/pensioner here.

[ileus]

37. Hospital pension, we don't pay into SS.

[beaglelover]

39. I have a vested pension from one of my jobs where I worked 13 years.

I think it pays about $1,800 per month beginning at age 62. Hopefully that will help a bit. I have 401(k)'s from my current and former jobs as well. I try to save the maximum each year, but once I hit 50, I don't reach the extra 'catch up' contribution limit. Hopefully retirement will be at my choice at not forced and not too soon.

[BainsBane]

41. A 403b

Which is not the same thing.

[RobinA]

44. I Have Two

One will be very small from a company I worked for before they stopped having a pension. I currently work for the state, where I went to work after 30 years in the private sector specifically for the pension. I am not married and have never made a huge salary, so I had to supplement SS somehow. I save, but I don't really believe you can save your way to retirement security unless you are quite rich. I am at this point fairly certain I will not end up on a steam grate, something I have worried about my entire life. Things could change, however.

I am 59. Yes, people younger than me are screwed.

[stevenleser]

45. Sort of. One place I worked froze pensions after I worked there 5 years of my 11 year tenure with

them.

I think the pension will be around $600/month when I retire. It's not nothing but it isn't anything on which someone could live.

[Ernesto]

47. You betcha!

UNION sheet metal worker here

[Berlin Vet]

49. One of the Best

I receive a pension from one of the best pension programs, a military retirement. My pension amount was based on the number of years and months that I served and the rank that I retired at. The pension does receive (almost) yearly increases, but not a huge amount. The other great thing about my retirement is the Survivor Benefit Program it has. Basically if I die tomorrow my wife would get half of my retirement for the rest of her life but it would stop if she remarried.
Donald Bartlett and James Steele, reporters from the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote a book called "America: What Went Wrong?" which was published in 1992. They devoted an entire chapter on disappearing pensions that began in the 1980's. If you've never read this book, you should, and you could probably could find in on Abe Books for a few bucks.
I've only been political awake for about 10 years ago but I asked myself, did the Democrats do anything about the destruction of pensions when it started happening? Allowing companies to hollow out their pensions to enrich management should never have been allowed.

[GP6971]

50. Is it true

that a military retiree receives only 50% of the yearly increase that active duty military gets? If active duty gets 2% then retires only get 1%.

[DesertFlower]

51. i'm collecting my late husband's. he was

with IBM for almost 43 years.

[etherealtruth]

52. No, a 401-K

[Kilgore]

54. Company cashed out our pension

We were purchased by a foreign company and those of us who had not yet begun drawing a pension were offered a cashout by rollover into an IRA tax free or cash at a 50% tax penalty.

Took the rollover into a self directed IRA and purchased income property. There was no way Wallstreet was ever getting their mitts on it. Worse comes to worse, I can farm it.

[Generic Brad]

55. Pension, 401k, and SSI

And I have also been saving like mad.

[trixie2]

56. Yes, was one of the last workers in the door to get in on it. Defined benefit

Librarian - public library. At least we were smart and got our pension funds the heck out of dodge each month. Our funds have part employer and part employee. Each year we upped the % by employees and our last contract we had to take a decrease by the employer from 12% to 8% so we upped our share to 15%. Our money is then sent to a party that favors the employee and invested. The employer has been trying to get out of this with it's older employees and have been getting rid of job titles which mean the person in the job title is no longer a viable worker. Thanks Snyder! At least 9 people have had this happen, including me, so now there are only 3 people still in the old pension fund. The employer even tried to get their money back from all the years they put in the pension and the good news is no go. We retained our pensions. It is frozen but still invested until we reach our pension age.

About 10 years ago we realized that getting healthcare from pension age to Medicare age was going by the wayside so we suggest they do a health saving account. They said yes. OMG and split up the pot of money set aside for this by doling money into our HSA accounts depending on years of service, which is fair. Each month they put another $200 into our HSA. This account can be used by anyone on your taxes and can be attained once you are severed from the institution. So very pro employee. This account can be inherited and must be inherited by someone or it goes back to the library. Like that will happen! They even tried to take those accounts back once our job titles were eliminated and NO GO. Hurray for our pension people.

My experience at that job started out great but many, many years in we were treated horribly and now am glad to be out of there and the stress we were under. I am thankful for my pension and HSA. We were also offered a 357 B with out employer contribution. I took advantage of that too. My parents taught us to save and have another investment outside of pension and 357b.

I have always thought that raising Medicare age was a huge problem. My mother was dead at 70. My medicare age is 65 and SS age is 67. People are working longer and not giving young people with families a chance for full employment. How are they going to be able to save enough to ever retire?

[juxtaposed]

59. yes still have one. union carpenter in a right to work shit hole state

[trixie2]

60. Michigan?

[TrekLuver]

63. I am very lucky that I landed at a retirement company who does have a pension and great benefits....

and a matching 401(k). The vacation time is great too. Very rare for a large company like this to have a pension. Getting this job has made it possible to really think I can retire more comfortably. Hello Lump Sum !!!

[edhopper]

66. yes but I fear Trump will so screw things up

that the Pension Fund investments will get hit hard enough for my pension to shrink or disappear.

[WillowTree]

67. Two, actually. Yes, one small one from a former employer that I'm now collecting.......

.......and another that I'll begin collecting from my current employer if and when I ever decide to retire.

[Yonnie3]

69. Yes, a small one.

I was working for GE and they laid me off one week before I was vested. All of those laid off were within a year of vestment. We contacted corporate HR, we were vested and the local HR manager was laid off. GE has had legal problems with such things. When I turned 60, I began drawing 373 a month. There is no COLA and waiting until I was 70 would not change the amount.

[blockhead]

70. Two of them.

Union Yes!

[MurrayDelph]

71. Even though I am not yet 64

I've filed the paperwork to start collecting my pension from DEC and Social Security, before they get pulled away, or the goalposts get moved yet again.