Pension Plan assets can be tapped for stock-buyback. So I think they are going to start firing anyone pension eligible right before they vest. Firing someone 6 months early can save the company a ton over time and would create opportunity for younger people.
Trump would support this.
"I think they are going to start firing anyone pension eligible right before they vest."
Employees vest after 3 years of pension service and it's been more than 3 years since they discontinued the pension plan for incoming new hires so who are they going to fire?
@a4+1jkh01g9q - "Age 55 does indeed matter as it is when your pension becomes retirement eligible vested and worth much more than previous to that date."
No idea where you came up with "retirement eligible vested". The Portfolio I Pension Plan Summary Plan Description says "You become vested in your Pension Plan benefit after you complete three years of vesting service with 3M." This is true "even if you leave 3M before retirement". It doesn't say anything about being age 55 to be vested.
The Portfolio I pension formula is based on high-4 average, years of service, and the social security breakpoint. There is nothing in there about age. So a 54 and 11 month old and a 55 and 1 month old who have the same high-4 average and the same years of service on the day they leave 3M will both be eligible for the same monthly pension benefit commencing at age 65.
However, their monthly pension payments could differ if they choose to receive benefits before the normal retirement age of 65. The older of the two would be considered retired so their monthly benefit payment would be reduced by one-twelfth of 5% for each month (or 5% for each full year) that they begin receiving payments before age 65. The younger of the two would have their monthly benefit reduced by an actuarial annuity factor based on the length of time from when payments begin until age 65 and this would be closer to 6.5% per year. Neither of them will qualify for an early unreduced benefit because they're both well shy of the 62 year age requirement for that. Neither of them is likely to qualify for the social security bridge because at age 55 they would need to have at least (92-55=) 37 years of service, meaning they started working for 3M at age 18 or younger.
If both of these former employees choose the lump sum pension payout, the amounts will be nearly identical. The 2 months difference in age will result in a small difference, but it is likely to be less than 1/2 of a percent. (This again assumes they have the same high-4 average and same number of years of service. It also assumes they retire in the same calendar year so that the same IRS 417e segment rates are used to calculate both lump sums.)
Actually I cannot confirm any specific targeting of near-retirement staff for layoff. I do know quite a few people who took packages right against the magic date(s) (age 55 or 92 age+years), usually with enough service credit added on to get over the magic date.
Forcing people out this way would actually be pretty hard to do and get away with it. When a layoff happens in the US they have to give everyone laid off over age 40 a list of those laid off including job titles and demographics including age. If people aged say 53-55 were over-represented in those laid off it would be really apparent and easily result in 3M rightfully losing another age discrimination lawsuit.
Pulling money out of pension plan for a stock buyback would be a felony, at least until all the beneficiaries are dead and the pensions fully paid out.
Get a lawyer, unionize, push back.
Age 55 does indeed matter as it is when your pension becomes retirement eligible vested and worth much more than previous to that date.
The accumulated pension in your account is yours no matter when you're fired. Age 55 only matters for any unvested stock options you may have, these disappear if you're fired or quit. Kind of a d-mba$$ post. Get a clue.
This also happened in Mike's Roman Empire. A lot of people were 53 or 54 and got canned before the magic 55 age for pensions. Similarly, people near the 91 or 92 number (age plus years experience) got canned literally weeks before they hit the magic number.
Varys and others can confirm and explain as needed.
BB is Mcnerney 20 years later. Here to finish the job of destroying a great 20th century icon. McKnight is truly sickened when he looks down from heaven and what GE style greed did to his once great empire.