Another "Go F' Yourself" from American Corporations: Retirees can stuff it

Continued Health Insurance that is...Welcome to hell punks.

Prescription drug coverage she counted on just went away . . . :cry:

Out of town for a few weeks (hey, retirees travel), missed a payment on my (formerly free retirement benefit) dental insurance and they dropped us like a hot rock.
My "free till age 65" medical benefits now cost us $180 per month.
Tell me about it.

Corporations have been laying off older workers in droves ever since the beginning of Reagan/Bush ... virtually eliminating "retired workers" from their companies. I'd LOVE to see the rate at which companies have been 'retiring' workers over the last 50 years. I'm willing to bet it's less than one-fourth the rate, now.

countries in the world that does not have socilaized medicine. If Americans do not want it, then shouldn't employers have some kind of responsibility in taking care of their employees?

There just isn't any other way.

I do not see why employers should have responsibility for their employee's health insurance.

The only reason the two things are tied together at all is a quirk in history.

It doesn't make sense to tie a permanent need (health insurance) to a temporary situation (a job). It just doesn't make sense. People need health insurance whether they are employed or not, whether they work for a large or small company.

The two things shouldn't have anything to do with each other.

Last January, their health insurance premium went up by SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS, which is almost an entire retirement check. Consequently, they've fallen way behind in everything, including, and especially, the mortgage which was refinanced four years ago. At the same time, their coverage was actually reduced, so they're paying way more for much less.

And it's recently been discovered that the managers at the state teachers retirement system wasted millions of dollars on frivolous purchases (art for the building lobby, etc.), and those responsible for the dismal performance of the investments were actually given bonuses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, the teachers who've worked hard for forty-plus years are getting royally screwed. SIGH.

In Texas the TRS formula is

experience times 2.3 = % average top three salaries

So, if a teacher worked 40 years like you said, and made $ 45,000 per year, then the teacher would get $ 3,450 per month from TRS.

and I guess they do it differently because my parents only get $2,300 a month total.

Here it is

"Retirement Income
Unreduced benefits are determined by multiplying your years of credited service by 2.2% of your final average salary for the first 30 years of service, plus 2.5% for the 31st year, 2.6% for the 32nd year, 2.7% for the 33rd year and so on, until 100% of the final average salary is reached.

With 35 or more years of contributing service, the first 31 years are multiplied by 2.5% of your final average salary; then the escalating formula described above is used.

If you retire with 30 years of service under the current formula, you will receive 66% of your final average salary as an annual retirement benefit. With 35 years, you will receive 88.5% of your final average salary."

So if a teacher in Ohio taught 35 years, she /he would do a little better than Texas. Assuming a $ 45,000 average top three salaries, she would get

$ 45,000 times 88.5 % or $ 39,825 per year or $ 3,318.75 per month.

Forty years would be a good bit better than that.

I'm a stockbroker who works with hundreds of teacher families. I actually find this stuff interesting.

I'm not sayin' anything else. Don't need to. It speaks for itself.

On Corps and Govt.

And, I'll betcha, there are a lot of people who think SS will pay off after about another 10 years!

I'm not saying anythin' else. Don't hafta...

US Airways is back in bankruptcy. It would like to terminate the retirees' pension plan as well as health coverage for the retirees or their surviving spouses. There was a lengthy article in the _Winston-Salem Journal_ a week ago about this.

The reason the story is newsworthy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is that back in the eighties, US Air, the predecessor of US Airways, took over Piedmont Airlines, which had its headquarters in Winston-Salem.

US Airways shrinking its commitment to retiree health-care

made sure that they were in a "protected" retirement plan that is fully funded and cannot be touched by bankruptcy. That's the way they usually do it.

send me an email, and I can provide links to .pdf files regarding the bankruptcy proceedings. They are being held at the US Bankruptcy Cout, Eastern District of Virginia.