Molly Ivins: Naked and helpless (discussion of pensions)

The entire political world is agog: Tom DeLay indicted, Scooter Libby in danger, Karl Rove rumors abound, Miers' nomination in doo-doo. So I'm writing about ... pensions. They're just so sexy, I couldn't resist.

Of course, the word pension is a terminal turnoff for anyone under 60 -- so redolent of the blue-rinse perm set. As one whose idea of financial planning consists of playing bingo at the Safeway, I'd prefer to be out listening to reggaeton, myself. Still, when you're getting screwed, you really should know about it.

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In 1984, only 19 percent of employers with plans used defined-contribution plans. In 2004, it was up to 93 percent, according to a comprehensive series in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on what the pension changes are doing to people in that state. By contrast, in 1984, 57 percent of companies had defined-benefit plans. By 2004, that number was 15 percent.

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In fact, every one of us comes into this world naked and helpless, and most leave it in the same condition -- and we are dependent on one another every single day in between. The "stand on your own feet and take care of yourself" attitude the right wing keeps pushing is not only cruel, but stupid, too.

more...

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=19735

They're breaking long-term agreements established with their workers. Unlike a corporation, individuals do not have indefinite lives and cannot simply start over. Any agreements in place should have been grandfathered.

My employer, a local phone company, had a defined-benefit plan. I joined in 1985 and was pretty much assured of a decent annuity to add to social security. However, as James Earl Jones said, "the arrangement has changed." To a cash balance that's a fraction of the original amount.

I'll be OK, but I have had to completely rethink my financial future.

legislated. They got the pension funding requirements reduced, permission to declare bankruptcy and dump pension plans approved, separate management pension plans that can be continually funded even though lower level employee pensions are underfunded, etc.

This is the government that they bought and paid for. And they're getting what they paid for (and so are we).

This did nothappen accidentally. It was done by our GOP and DLC Congress.

In some cases it goes deeper than that. My pension (US Airways pilots pension plan) was terminated on March 31, 2003. Every economic aspect of my job as an airline pilot was controlled by the collective bargaining agreement. When my union negotiated a contract the defined benefit pension plan was the "third rail" .. untouchable. We never, ever allowed that to be put on the table. Conversely, the company used the value of the DB plan against us when we sought higher wages or better work rules. Fine. Just don't fuck with "the plan."

"The plan" was actually nothing more than deferred wages. We paid for that pension plan with our honest labor. The bankruptcy court judge's decision to terminate our pension plan on 3/31/2003 was as egregious and outrageous as if he had impounded our bank accounts. Those dishonest brokers that sought the termination of our pension (US Airways "management") lined their pockets with my retirement funds.

In case you think I exaggerate, consider the case of then-CEO of US Airways, Dave Siegel. Siegel, who was fired by the ailing airline's board on 2003, was payed over $10 million by bankrupt US Airways in 2003 (from a Washington Post story in 2004 on the top paid executives in the Washington area.) Three other senior executives of US Airways also appeared on the WaPo top-paid list.

What is happening to the American pension is total bullshit. Those that are allowing it to happen are facilitating larceny and abetting top-down class warfare.

Thank you again Molly Ivins for your tenacious reporting of issues affecting us "little people" who actually work for a living.

I'd REALLY like to see the Democratic Party add a "reform ERISA" to its platform.

Most Americans don't understand just how ERISA (Employee Retirement and Income Security Act), which was a federal law supposedly designed to protect working people's income has been amended and gutted so it actually does the exact opposite, and this is how these corporations are "legally" allowed to get away with screwing workers out of employer-sponsored job benefits--retirement, health insurance coverage and disability coverage.

For example, if you work for a private company that offers you disability benefits, the chances are EXTREMELY GOOD that if you actually do become disabled, can't work, and need financial help, that you will end up having to go to court to get your benefits, which can take up to six-seven years to resolve. I am not making this up!

Not that long ago, one of the nation's largest disability insurance companies, UNUM has made record profits. UNUM, ended up settling a class action lawsuit brought by the states because of UNUM's corrupt business practices of unfairly denying legitimate claims and their rotten excuses to terminate benefits payments that they had been making by changing the policies after-the-fact to exclude certain conditions.

ERISA law is set up so that in most cases the disability insurance company doesn't ever get punished for unfairly denying benefits, and state laws against consumer fraud aren't allowed to apply. AND, to add insult to injury, most disability insurance contracts are set up so that if you end up having to go on SSD, that if they do actually pay you benefits, that they then get to deduct the SSD you got from what they owe you.

Seems to me that at a minimum, no ERISA disability contract should be allowed to take an offset against SSD payments made.

It's pretty much the same corrupt, bulls---t deal with ERISA health insurance benefits and pension benefits.

I could go on and on with tons of examples about just how bad ERISA is, but instead I'd like to encourage the posters here to do some google-searching to get more informed, and then join me in asking the Democratic party to put ERISA reform on the agenda.