Pensions.. what they ARE..and what they are NOT

[SoCalDem]

Pensions are:

a way for companies to attract & keep quality employees who are loyal to the company, and who will work their asses off to make sure that company is , and stays, profitable. The people in a well-run company will "give-up" things in hard times and they will cut costs when necessary.

deferred wages paid.......a way to keep salaries down, in exchange for benefits at the end of a career. Employees GIVE UP raises (or significant percentages of raises) in exchange for an enhanced benefit at the end of their careers.

Pensions are NOT:

welfare
a "gift" from the employer

[frazzled]

1. What they are not is what most Americans have from their employers

A small portion of American workers have a defined-benefit pension plan, and that number has been shrinking steadily since the 1980s, when defined contribution plans (401ks) came into being. The difference? The traditional pension has "defined benefits," which offer a set income stream or lump pay out on retirement, based on position and years of service, etc. What most have been getting (and now even fewer of these) is the ability to contribute some of your salary into a 401k, which may grow in size or--if you were unlucky enough to retire in 2008, for example--be worth nothing.

For most of us who are not union or government employees, a pension does not exist.

[CountAllVotes]

2. so very true

When working for the state at one point I had two part-time jobs, both were permanent.

I'll never forget getting the paycheck for job #2. By the time all of the deductions were done and paid (including the pension system and Social Security) my entire pay for one month was $110.00 for job #2.

This is/was not an attractive option for most people. For this reason, a lot of people never wanted to work for places that had a defined contribution plan which you pay into along with SS.

Those that did this have paid their dues in more than one way, that you can believe.

Merry Xmas to you btw. :)