A pension

I was a teenager when I started doing union ironwork. One of the things older folks told me was that someday I would be glad to have the pension benefits. Knowing I wouldn't live to be 30 I didn't appreciate that. When I passed 30 I still didn't think much about it, it was so far away.

I did 20 years erecting structural steel and got out of it due to injuries incurred on the job. The dark cloud, worst thing in the world at the time, had a silver lining and I've been a pro tattooer since then.

Today I will cash my first pension benefit check. :y It is not that much but enough to cover my mortgage and go out to dinner with the change. To all of you young folks out there, if you can get a job that offers pension benefits grab it.

Congrats.

I actually have a choice to make at work right now. Stay in the pension program or switch to an "enhanced" 401k program where they match 9% and the money i have in the pension just earns interest.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I was a teenager when I started doing union ironwork. One of the things older folks told me was that someday I would be glad to have the pension benefits. Knowing I wouldn't live to be 30 I didn't appreciate that. When I passed 30 I still didn't think much about it, it was so far away.

I did 20 years erecting structural steel and got out of it due to injuries incurred on the job. The dark cloud, worst thing in the world at the time, had a silver lining and I've been a pro tattooer since then.

Today I will cash my first pension benefit check. :y It is not that much but enough to cover my mortgage and go out to dinner with the change. To all of you young folks out there, if you can get a job that offers pension benefits grab it.

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Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

Congrats.

I actually have a choice to make at work right now. Stay in the pension program or switch to an "enhanced" 401k program where they match 9% and the money i have in the pension just earns interest.

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I was just talking to a co-worker last night ..... his wife has been with the post office for over 20 years. They offered a similar arrangement and she stayed with the pension. A mutual friend that also has that much time in the PO took the offer and has lived to regret it. I don't know the details but if it was me I would think long and hard. Especially since the ongoing financial debacle of the past years.

Congrats Jimmy! Glad you're covered there..! :)

I started a pension right when I started work and I've been paying the maximum I can into it right from the word go. The most important thing you can do when you're young is to keep your options open for later in life I think..!

I dont want to work in the City for ever and I'd like the option later on to jack it in and teach guitar or something!

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I was a teenager when I started doing union ironwork. One of the things older folks told me was that someday I would be glad to have the pension benefits. Knowing I wouldn't live to be 30 I didn't appreciate that. When I passed 30 I still didn't think much about it, it was so far away.

I did 20 years erecting structural steel and got out of it due to injuries incurred on the job. The dark cloud, worst thing in the world at the time, had a silver lining and I've been a pro tattooer since then.

Today I will cash my first pension benefit check. :y It is not that much but enough to cover my mortgage and go out to dinner with the change. To all of you young folks out there, if you can get a job that offers pension benefits grab it.

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Congrats!!!!! I know how you feel. It is the gift that keeps on giving. I do the snoopy dance when I wake up every 1st of the month. I've been collecting a pension since September 2007.

When I took my former job at 21 years old, my friends all made fun of me and asked why I was doing it. There was no money,terrible hours and sometimes very difficult working conditions. I answered that it was something I always wanted to try and I got free medical benefits that saved me $300 per year. (who knew how expensive they would become)
They laughed at me anyway.

I hope you collect that pension for many, many healthy years!!


If you were close enough I'd by the drinks!Okole Maluna! (Bottoms Up!)

Enjoy your retirement! Only thing is, the days fly by now. Scary!

Congrats Jimmy! Ever so important is planning ahead especially with it likely our younger folks will never see a Social Security payment. I have a small pension, social security and a 70% military disability pay.

Yea when I started working for the Federal Govt all my friends made fun of me and over the years out earned me by plenty. However now I'm retired and getting that check every month and the medical benefits and they are still working and will be for many years to come. Funny they don't bring up the job thing anymore.

Anyone who changes from pension to 401 is crazy unless you work for a private company and then if they go under you can loose most of you pension too.

This is a private company I work for, which is why I am seriously considering the change.

I already have a 401k in addition to the pension, but they will match an additional 6% under the new plan.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Yea when I started working for the Federal Govt all my friends made fun of me and over the years out earned me by plenty. However now I'm retired and getting that check every month and the medical benefits and they are still working and will be for many years to come. Funny they don't bring up the job thing anymore.

Anyone who changes from pension to 401 is crazy unless you work for a private company and then if they go under you can loose most of you pension too.

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Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

This is a private company I work for, which is why I am seriously considering the change.

I already have a 401k in addition to the pension, but they will match an additional 6% under the new plan.

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I don't know much about money except how to spend it :gaah: but I believe that with a pension you're federally protected to get something even if the fund source goes into the tank. I don't know if it is that way with the 401k type thing.

I think if the company goes into the tank, the government takes over and decides how much your pension you should get.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I don't know much about money except how to spend it :gaah: but I believe that with a pension you're federally protected to get something even if the fund source goes into the tank. I don't know if it is that way with the 401k type thing.

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We don't have 401K's up here...but RRSP's are pretty good.

As an Ontario teacher, we have an excellent pension to pay into. Hopefully it doesn't go bottoms up by the time I retire. I'm not eligible for another 27 years (and yes....I can hear many of you laughing right now and saying..."young pup").

I contribute 5% of my net income outside of my pension to RRSP's every month, as well as 5% of my net income to a rainy day/emergency savings account.

My goal is to retire with more comfort than my working years. I'm stiff now to be relaxed later. Some may laugh at this. Some may say things may change. All of that is ok, as long as I believe what I'm doing is right.

I want to be sitting on a dock with a Labatt 50 while my other friends who continually "keep up with the Jones'" are till plugging away.

Jimmy, congrats on your pension, and I wish I could have met you when I was getting my last couple tattoos done. I feel you can never have enough....and SWMBO feels that less is more. Alas....

Congrats,
Maxi

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I was a teenager when I started doing union ironwork. One of the things older folks told me was that someday I would be glad to have the pension benefits. Knowing I wouldn't live to be 30 I didn't appreciate that. When I passed 30 I still didn't think much about it, it was so far away.

I did 20 years erecting structural steel and got out of it due to injuries incurred on the job. The dark cloud, worst thing in the world at the time, had a silver lining and I've been a pro tattooer since then.

Today I will cash my first pension benefit check. :y It is not that much but enough to cover my mortgage and go out to dinner with the change. To all of you young folks out there, if you can get a job that offers pension benefits grab it.

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Pensions are definitely not where they used to be. My father is a union carpenter and can tell me exactly where his pension will be in x years / hours submitted / whatever. My company has an odd pension structure on top of a 401k program. I'm just hoping both will be around by the time I'm ready to be put to pasture.

this is going to sound like a dumb question, but I'm curious:

how is a pension substantially different from an employer-matched 401k? I entered the workforce in the last 10 years, so I've never even worked for a company that offered such a thing.

I invest heavily in both 401k (+company match) and a Roth IRA... I don't expect to ever see a dime of social security and anyone who's planning on that is pretty naive.

As I said before, once a person is vested with the requisite number of years they will get their pension. If the company goes belly up they will still get some of it through a federal program guaranteeing it. I don't know about 401ks or other investments like that. From what I read in the paper Enron employees lost it all thanks to Kenny boy and his cohorts. IOW, isn't it market based ? Is there a guarantee that you'll get what you've got coming ? FWIW, I am looking forward to the social security in four more years.

a 401k is basically an investment account, and you can invest with it however you like. sometimes an employer will limit what investments you can do to a preselected list of mutual funds, but good 401k plans let you buy stocks, commodities, whatever.

that way, the only limit on how much you have is how good you are at investing :)

If you are in line for a pension and the company squanders their money and goes under and the plan is not funded the Govt will take it over but unless you worked for peanuts you will never get anything close to what you should have.

Also there are two types of pensions. One is where it's a benefit of your employment and you pay nothing into it and often times your not vested until a year or two before retirement. The pension is just a promise and nothing more.

The other type is where you pay into a plan and that's more secure. If you have a 401 type and the economy tanks you can loose it all that's why all this talk of privatizing social security. If it's privatized and the market tanks your social security goes bye bye.

Congratulations on your pension Jimmy. I am eligible for my pension as a Union Electrical Worker in one week and I am so glad that it is in a defined benefit program instead of an annuity. It is as guaranteed as anything can get and it pays until I die. We always referred to our annuity as our gambling money and i will have to say our pension has vastly out performed my annuity. I am happy to hear you are finally getting yours. Thank God for pensions and Unions.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Yea when I started working for the Federal Govt all my friends made fun of me and over the years out earned me by plenty. However now I'm retired and getting that check every month and the medical benefits and they are still working and will be for many years to come. Funny they don't bring up the job thing anymore.

Anyone who changes from pension to 401 is crazy unless you work for a private company and then if they go under you can loose most of you pension too.

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He who laughs last, laughs best. Take Uncle Sam deep, you earned it.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I don't know much about money except how to spend it :gaah:

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I am with you on this one. I did, however, marry an accountant. :)

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Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

I think if the company goes into the tank, the government takes over and decides how much your pension you should get.

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Yep, there is a federal fund. State Pensions are protected because States cannot declare they are bankrupt. The first thing they have to pay is their pension obligation especially if it is partially employee funded, which most are.

Jimmy, I didn't know that we had an ink slinger in our midst. Where do you tattoo at? I've been thinking of getting a straight razor tattoo, and it would be nice to get it from somebody who's actually held one before.

is to seek guidance from a qualified financial advisor. not a forum on shaving! (I would go with the 401K personally. Better to control your own money, and that match is fantastic)

Congrats Jimmy! :beer1:

I love to hear stories like this.

I hope I live long enough and stay in good health to enjoy a pension.

My mother passed before she could open her second check and my father passed earlier.

Congratulations, Jimmy. I'm a pensioner too. Retired over two years ago and I'm only 51. Had over 25 years in a New York State law enforcement title.(prison guard) It's a beautiful thing to get that free money every month. My only restriction is how long I can live and take their money. I'm young enough to get a lot. :D :D :D

Pensions are not fully guaranteed, at least not all of them. There have been many Pensions that went bust in the Financial Disaster. I'll see if I can find more info online and post it here.

PBGC Executive Director Bradley D. Belt said in an interview that United is only the latest -- and largest -- illustration of what ails the federal pension protection system: It allows companies to drastically underfund pensions, and even to disguise the problem. Defaults have so escalated in troubled sectors of the economy, Belt said, that the PBGC now is on the hook for $450 billion in pension obligations, compared with $50 billion only three or four years ago. In three years, it has gone from having a $7 billion surplus to a $23 billion deficit. Without changes to the 30-year-old pension protection system, he said, the PBGC could itself become insolvent.

The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. (PBGC), the federal insurance program that faces its own solvency crisis and is to take over the United pensions, ensures a maximum of $45,000 a year in benefits for those who retired at 65, but considerably less for those who retired younger -- much as Social Security pays less to early retirees. This particularly hurts pilots, whom the law requires to retire from major airlines at 60 and who now collect as much as $125,000 a year in pensions, depending on length of service. The PBGC's maximum coverage for those who retire at 60 is $28,000 -- a cut of 50 to 75 percent for pilots. Saracini will receive even less because her husband was 51 when he was killed.

These are excerpts from an article here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...061201367.html

In a nutshell: Pensions are guaranteed, but only to a fraction of what the pension may have paid out. And the Government is already overwhelmed by bailing out Pensions from the recent disaster.
401K's are insured also, I think the limit is $200,000/account (Used to be $100,000)

My recommendation is never put all your goose eggs in one Picnic Basket.

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Originally Posted by aroliver59

Congratulations, Jimmy. I'm a pensioner too. Retired over two years ago and I'm only 51. Had over 25 years in a New York State law enforcement title.(prison guard) It's a beautiful thing to get that free money every month. My only restriction is how long I can live and take their money. I'm young enough to get a lot. :D :D :D

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Free money? I paid in 7.5 percent of my salary for 30+ years with the federal Govt and worked probably 800 hours of non paid overtime each year. Maybe I worked for the wrong outfit.

401Ks are not insured. If they were people would not have lost all the money they did in the financial meltdown. 401ks are usually based on stocks. Savings accounts and CDs and related are insured by the FDIC.

Thanks for the advice jimmy, when i trun 18 im heading off to the air force and id like to become a pilot and stay there long enought to get a pension so when i retire i have that for income.

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Originally Posted by Deerhunter1995

Thanks for the advice jimmy, when i trun 18 im heading off to the air force and id like to become a pilot and stay there long enought to get a pension so when i retire i have that for income.

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One more thing, when I was an apprentice ironworker an old man, my foreman on a job, told me to save 10% of what ever my net was. Put it in the bank and forget it is there. I didn't do that but if I had I'd be on easy street today. Do that and by the time you've done your 20 years in the military you'll be set for life.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

One more thing, when I was an apprentice ironworker an old man, my foreman on a job, told me to save 10% of what ever my net was.

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very good advice. I put more than 15% of my gross into 401k and roth accounts (you are limited on how much you can put into each account), the trick to surviving a recession is diversifying very thoroughly. So far I've yet to lose a dime... helps that I married a professional investment advisor :)

hoping to retire by 50.