Thread regarding Verizon Communications Inc. layoffs

Same with social security. They now talk of reduced benefits and more years of toiling for the middle class (having both parents work wasn’t enough) @sk
They gutted social security when they used it as a revenue stream to make up shortfalls caused by wasteful spending and tax breaks.

@se the PBGC is taxpayer funded.
The burden has now been transferred to the taxpayer, who now picks up the bail-out tab for unfulfilled pension obligations and promises that the corporations that had made those agreements originally instead walked away from. Gotta admire the cleverness of the wealthy in masterminding the never-ending transferring of wealth from us to them.

To anyone finding a sense of security that pensions are insured by the federal government consider this. The PBGC, pension benefit guarantee corporation is the federal entity responsible for insuring pensions. They are under funded and near to becoming insolvent. What’s more is if Vz was to fall upon hard financial times and they take their violin out of it’s case and play the government a sad tune, your pension can be cut all the way down to 30% of what you were originally getting. For those who are already collecting and were lucky enough to have their pension purchased by Prudential be glad! I’ll take my chances with a highly rated insurance company any day over taking the annuity from Vz.

@hq We are talking about the federal guarantee of private pensions that become insolvent versus a state guarantee, not the amount of a pension of a federal worker. Yes federal cap on the guarantee (80%) is higher than the state maximum, which changes from state to state (NY about $500K). If these AAA ratedinsurance companies become insolvent we will all have bigger problems.

A federal pension is not 80% by ANY stretch. For regular government workers it is 1% per year, so work for 30 years and you get 30% of your high three. Federal law enforcement get 1.7% per year. Both are very poor in comparison to state and local employee pensions,

@bs You are very level headed in your thinking. I would prefer a AAA rated insurance company be the custodian of my pension rather than Vz any day of the week!

For everyone’s information. I called the Vz pension department a couple of months ago to inquire about who is custodian of the pension if I was to retire and take the annuity pension instead of the lump sum. I was put on a 5 minute hold. The rep told me pension obligation was sold off to Prudential in 2013 and 2023. It had to do with contractual obligations concerning Bell Atlantic and GTE. She further stated that there’s currently no plans to sell off more of it. Doesn’t mean it will never happen but for now going forward, if you retire , your pension is with Vz. If you’re bent on a monthly pension but don’t want to leave it with Vz take the lump and purchase a guaranteed life annuity. I’ve been quoted an almost identical monthly amount for a glf as if I had taken a 100% pop-up for my wife from Vz.

Prudential has retiree pension. Told me that pension is only insured for up to $100k...not good so rolled all of it over to IRA.

@bf from what I know your pension is somewhere around 32 to maybe 40 thousand a year. It is something and wouldn’t complain about getting any money, but the pension is awful compared to other pensions. Feds would guarantee about probably 80% of that if needed. Now that would be gone and if something happened it would be worth pennys on the dollar. There is a reason they want these removed from their books.

The liability is now mostly owned by AAA rated 100 year old insurance companies who are uniquely well positioned to have assets to pay benefits. Would you prefer Verizon's BBB+ rating as your credit for the next 30 years?

@ad WRONG. Look it up

@b9 Probably a smart move, but that’s what VZ wants people to do anyways. You are now off their books.

I took my pension as a lump sum payment per the 2024 VSP, I am glad I did

Pensions were frozen and protected. I just retired after 40 yesrs.. company stopped contributing 12-14 years ago so was frozen... so not to worry.

Then Vz went to 401K

Only vsriable is GATT rate on pension but rates are historically low so let your health, famiky and job detegrmine when to take

@aa maybe 20-30 thousand? 200-300 thousand doesn’t seem correct

The pension that has been sold, no longer has federal protections, it only has state protections. Federal is fully guaranteed, state only guarantees 200 or 300 thousand, depending on state.

I think they already sold off the people who already retired pensions, this article looks like they are getting rid of the rest of it. I don’t think you receive the govt protection now that it is has been removed from VZ, but I may be wrong.