How do the people with a pension feel? Do we have a bullseye on our backs to get rid of us?
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@ad super super bad take. I worked at Target 1mos shy of 19 years and recently got laid off. I had a pension and I assure you it’s not much and nothing that’s going to make anyone rich. I’m a single mom of 2 kids and struggling to get by. You better get over your bitterness pretty fast or you’re going to pi*s off the wrong person. Try having empathy instead and don’t make such incorrect assumptions.
@ad you are more than a little bitter and absolutely off the mark. You might want to check yourself. I'm not a boomer, I'm in my early 40s ans I have young kids, plus a husband who has been out of work since April.
I have a pension at Target. You think the fact that I worked hard and was one of the last groups to get a pension means I should step aside when I am the only one in my household bringing in a paycheck?
Be mad at the people in charge who decided to cut the pension plan.
Be mad at the people who decided to cut the benefits package and give us worse and worse every year.
Be mad at the ones who decided to make vacation something that isn't actually yours and able to receive a payout if you quit or are laid off.
There are a whole lot of other people to be upset with than me and others like me.
Hope you get some peace and I am sorry that the ladder keeps getting pulled up or the goal post moved, but it isn't the vast majority of your peers/co-workers doing it.
@av rent for a studio apartment in Minneapolis was also not $2000 a month. Just relax, it’s ok to admit younger generations are in a tough place right now, it would actually go a long way to just acknowledge it. It doesn’t take away from your success or “work ethic” …
@OP Back to your post: "How do the people with a pension feel? Do we have a bullseye on our backs to get rid of us?"
My experience is that I was RIFd in Nov '23 at age 64 after 23+ years at Target. It seems petty to squabble about now, but I was pi---d because my pension was about to grow from 5% to 6.5% in a bit over a year. Plus 4+% added interest a year. So, feeling = pi---d. I did not feel a bullseye on my back because my entire team of 25 was RIFd.
Today: I don't know whether one can claim their pension without meeting a years of service requirement. I thought it was 5 years to vesting. And if that's the case, you wouldn't lose anything but future pension growth opportunity for those who are vested. And I don't recall the distribution requirement, ie can you take it as taxable income or must it go into a retirement-based account. This would likely be spelled out in a Severance Agreement. Disclaimer: I make no claim or advice as to anyone's specific financial situation.
@b0 were you at an acquired company? Target stopped the pension a very long time ago so I assume that is why people presume you are older.
I have a young family and a pension. Not everyone with a pension is old.
What is with the ageism here?
@ax stop saying it is a work ethic issue. Weird presumption and very telling. I have busted my a-s to get where I am at today and many of my peers have, as well. And i am sure you did too, but the reality is you have a pension out of the deal and we don’t. I’m allowed to be frustrated that I won’t able to afford to retire despite paying into the system and working just as hard as YOU!
@ad I have the pension and I was laid off over the summer. One thing you’re not considering in the job search scenario is that people don’t hire us 50+ folks. It will take us twice as long or more to find new jobs. It su-ks for everyone.
@aw my kids will because we have already taught them “you aren’t owed anything, you have to work hard for what you want, nothing will be given to you”. We are also planning not only for our future but our kids when we are gone, hoping to help them out when our time is up by making good choices and decisions now. Life is about hard work and sacrifices.
@at you think I’m entitled and I think your complicity is an issue and part of what got us here! Why has GenX rolled over for the boomers? Bootstraps only get you so far when the system is rigged, that’s the whole point. YOU should be angry too. You should want your kids to grow up and have a nice life as adults.
@as oh and BTW…we didn’t get our student loan debt erased, we didn’t have the same hiring programs there are today, we didn’t have the technology we do today to help us find jobs, we didn’t make the same starting wage most start with today. I could go on and on about what you have we don’t. But it doesn’t matter, because complaining about it doesn’t help.
@as again, there’s the entitlement. I am a GenX and the BB gen had it better than us, but I don’t worry or dwell on that because there is nothing I can do about it. Things don’t stay the same forever. Go after what you want, whining about life being unfair won’t help you in any way, you have to want to help yourself. Hard work and determination will get you there. Time to grow up.
@ar so you don’t think it’s reasonable for younger generations to be frustrated that we aren’t being given the same benefits & opportunities that you and those before us were afforded? Sounds like you might be the entitled one.
@ad I’m at a loss for words with all that BS. I have a pension and several kids still in school, I’m not “stepping aside“ so some ungrateful and entitled wet behind the ear punk thinks the world owes them something. Grow up, go after what you want and work for it, whining for it won’t take you anywhere.
@an fair enough… I’m really sorry that happened to you, I hadn’t thought about it like that. I guess it turns out I am just a bitter nihilistic millennial. I guess my sentiment is maybe more for people of retirement age who do have an option. But regardless, we should all be angry that there isn’t more of a safety net for all of us and an economy that supports more than the top 10% of people. I retract my statement (would delete it if I could)
Long tenured team members can be expensive to eliminate due to the way the severance packages are calculated and they are often the ones that can more easily absorb additional role functions because they have typically already held a variety of positions over their tenure. This can be helpful to the organization when the overall team size is reduced. I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that long tenured team members automatically sit at the top of the layoff list. It can go either way.
@ad ok I was at Target for the last 17 years. I'm only 41 and I have 3 young kiddos. I was one of the last years of pension benefits but got laid off in a smaller layoff this past August. You can fu-k all the way off with this take. I am beyond devastated to lose my job. I loved target and worked so hard. I also sang in the choir for the last 10 or so years, trying to spread joy to my fellow coworkers
@ad thinking because someone that started at target when pension was given as a benefit equates to wealth as asinine. Lots of things happen to people in 18+ years. They might be in a worse spot than someone who started 5 years ago. And to think they should step aside and sacrifice their career to someone else that started after pensions were offered is even more ludicrous. Being bitter is one thing but come back to reality. We work for target aint no one getting wealthy off that pension. Direct your anger where it belongs. The ones with the golden parachutes.
I’m sorry this probably will come off bitter (bc tbh I am). If I had a pension I would gladly step aside for people that are facing unemployment and likely 3-6 months of severance in extremely tough job market, and likely supporting young families. Especially considering if you qualify for the pension you have had 20+ years to accumulate way more wealth than anyone who started their career after 2008 (most millennials). I think anyone with a pension should consider themselves extremely lucky. Younger generations could only dream…. The ladder was pulled up for us. We have ZERO safety net now and nothing to look forward to in our later years either, considering SS will be wiped out. But the planet will likely be incompatible with human life by the time I’m 65, so it’s all good! Thanks boomers!
Pensions and 401ks are not stored at TGT. I had the same question and asked during a retirement consultation. I forgot the name of the provider but the retirement consultant said they’re in a third party (not TGT, not Alight).
Yes, having a pension was a target imho! They grandfathered those out in 2008 I think so anyone with one is long-tenured and old. Which they don’t want anymore. And we’re more expensive and they’re trying to cut costs.
Pension should be protected.
PBGC Insurance Coverage: Target’s defined benefit plan is insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency that acts as a backstop for private-sector defined benefit pensions. If Target terminates the plan due to insolvency:
Excellent question!!
My related question is what happens to our pensions if Target goes belly up?