Thread regarding Chevron Corp. layoffs

COBRA is only six months.

Folks, folks! You don't mind paying for a quality plan? That's music to the ears of these greedy insurance companies, doctors and hospitals. You don't complain about $1000-$1300 a month for healthcare coverage? Then you're more foolish than anyone needs to be. That kind of expense is called a ripoff. Just because that's the price they charge today does not mean "that's the price". Healthcare should not cost anyone more than 450-500 a month tops.

I'm right on topic @viau. I'm not stuck on the ACA, rather, I choose to use it because it works for me at this stage of my life. I'm healthy, physically active and only 5 years away from 65 when getting into the Chevron Retiree Medical is the least expensive time to afford it. In case you want to ignore reality or just be a troll, having healthcare coverage is the law, unless you want to go without and pay a penalty. I choose to to take advantage of having a plan as good or better than what Chevron employees have and I pay just $50. You, I guess help pay for the other $1200 of my plan. Thanks alot. So, as you can see, I'm not stuck with the ACA. It's more like you're stuck with having to pay for it. Thanks again twice, son. Just hang in there for another 5 years. Lol.

@vsgf, So you're stuck with the ACA. I'm not, fortunately. What makes you post such a meaningless rant here on the layoff's site? The topic is retiree medical, that which the company provides.

@pimb - I prepared myself well enough not to have to depend on the government or my friends and neighbors or to take morality lessens from anyone. I don't take handouts or give them out either. I am financially and legally well off. To hell with the morality bit you appear to hold so important. If you can obtain something LEGALLY that you can profit by, BEST TAKE IT. That's my credo. The ACA? That's something I'm able to profit by legally, so I take it. I'm 100% sure YOU would too. You complain because you can't get it or need to limit yourself too much financially to qualify. If you had planned better financially years ago for eventualities like Obamacare, you'd be enjoying the legal loopholes the IRS affords us smarter people. The rich make the laws, so you need to think like the rich, else you can live like the poor.

@ochr, The ACA is not dead yet (unfortunate for some, fortunate for others). The spineless Republican majorities in the House and Senate made a promise to the people when they were elected and still, they "don't want to go there". So, the ACA still is the law of the land. I'm not a moocher, but I'm not a fool either. I'll jump at any opportunity that legal and helps me. My spouse and I have an ACA plan that costs us only $50/month. The government (aka, Taxpayers) subsidizes the other $1,200. It's very affordable for us and is actually better that the Chevron PPO in many aspects. Far less out-of-pocket cost maximum too. When the ACA is repealed and hopefully replaced, I'll deal with things then. For now, it sure looks like the ACA will hang around for a spell, maybe until I'm 65.

You retirees need to budget approx. $15k a year for healthcare per couple until Medicare kicks in, and by that time, you still may need $15k in todays dollars. Don't expect any free ride and you won't be disappointed. the Unaffordable Care Act is dead and it made everything go up in cost for the people supporting the freeloading parasites anyway. I assume that if you are on this site and have a decent job or had one, you are not one of the freeloading parasites (with a few exceptions)

We're all in a predicament of some kind, opof.

@oiqa = Intimately engaged in the activities just described in detail. Lol.

OP, You still need me to explain the Pre-65 Retiree Medical Plan to you? It is a "Rip off" Retiree Medical Plan. Fair plan, but way too high of premiums to pay. Best wait until you are 65.

@ncht, I'm aware the "ACA" is not specifically mentioned, but it's in the same category as "another employer's group health coverage". It won't sound too well for Chevron to mention or insinuate "if the ACA went away", would it? But, if the ACA is repealed, it would effectively be the same as losing another group health coverage and you'd be able to switch to the Chevron Retiree Medical Plan if you want. As for me, I am waiting until age 65. I'm not a sickly person, so I could afford to wait and save money as well.

In the HRSC brochure dated September 2016, page 68, one of the milestones of enrollment is losing coverage by "another employer's group health coverage". There is no mention of losing private insurance or the ACA as a milestone.

@mskq - You don't seem to have read the HRSC brochure well enough to recall the changes Chevron made to the Retiree Medical Plan beginning Jan 2017. First of all, "getting back in" is now off the table. If you join the retiree medical plan or are already enrolled in it on Jan 2017 and you later decide to drop coverage, you've shot your wad. You cannot join it ever again. Here are the 3 milestones for joining the Chevron retiree medical plan (I'm paraphrasing):

1) You can join as soon as you retire from Chevron or when your 6 months of subsided Cobra medical coverage expires.

2) You can join as soon as you lose your existing medical coverage (other employer insurance, other private insurance, including the ACA insurance).

3) As soon as you become 65 years of age.

To answer your question, see #2 above. Just remember, if you join or are already enrolled in the Chevron Retiree Medical Program on Jan 1, 2017, you can leave it, but will never be able to come back later. I highly urge those retirees who haven't joined it yet, to not do so until you are 65 years old. It is much more affordable then and besides that, you will be able to apply the Chevron Retiree Medical Contribution and lower the premiums even more.

Hi Joe and Janet. no, you don't look angry. But the ACA is a losing proposition. I would not depend on it. To those who can rape the taxpayers by playing poor and taking subsidies that were intended for poor and disabled people? Good luck with that. I didn't work hard and educate myself so that I can mooch off others and be a pathetic dependent and fraudulent (by intent) recipient of entitlement handouts, when I'm more successful than many who have to foot the bill by leaps and bounds. YMMV.

Not sure that losing ACA coverage is a milestone for getting back into the Chevron Retiree Medical. I called HR Service Center and they did not confirm that this is the case. Where does it say that losing ACA coverage is a milestone.

Don't expect Chevron HR to explain Pre-65 Retiree Medical to you with a straight face. No honest way. They will only read the words to you, verbatim, off the PowerPoint presentation and leave you to face reality once you're out and your badge has been deactivated.

Congrats on the many years of service and the retirement indeed! However, I prefer to spend the prime, early years of my retirement with the best choice that I have and it is the retiree package, albeit a bit more expensive. I compared the plans to the Anthem Blue Cross that I have and nothing on the exchange is even close for the same monthly premium and with the same deductible in my state. I think every state is different. Also, I wish to spend the prime years in comfort and with the peace of mind that a good, normal insurance policy provides, not the ACA garbage. I worked for it, I can afford it, what am I saving it for, a pretty gravestone? I will be spending my retirement with good health care that I use anytime I want, low deductible, and traveling whenever a feel like it and staying home when I want also. Have a beer for me, fellow retiree and Cheers !!!

7xoj - First, congrats on your retirement from Chevron, forced or voluntarily. Second, congrats to you for the financial foresight in having the Roth savings. As far as your concern about the longevity of the ACA, you had nothing to lose and all to gain if you had taken the ACA to save you $800 per month. The Chevron retiree medical rules did change for 2017, but if you would have checked more closely, you had the opportunity to take the ACA path, and if before 7 years it went away, you would not have been precluded from joining the Chevron plan at that time, before turning 65. Chevron announced 3 milestones by which you could join. One of them was if you lost your current coverage (including the ACA). They only stipulated very clearly that you could not drop Chevron retiree coverage after 2017 and regain it later. I carefully read the terms and called the Chevron HRSC to make sure my understanding was correct. I continued my plan in the ACA for 2017 and plan to join the Chevron retiree plan once I turn 65, if it's still around.

I was going to switch to an ACA medical plan in 2017 until Chevron modified their plan last year. With the change I wouldn't have been able to enroll in Chevron's plan again until age 65, in my case that was 7 years of uncertainty on acquiring future coverage through ACA. ACA would have saved me $800 / month versus Chevron's coverage. The ACA Blue Cross Anthem plan for my state was nearly identical to what we have through Chevron. Due to large Roth account balances I have the tax flexibility to set a low taxable income and qualify for ACA if I choose to.

Taking the Chevron retiree medical before 65 is a kick in the gut. The disappointment comes when you leave Chevron, then get the real scoop of what it really entails. HR purposefully keeps the rank and file employeee in the dark about its true cost. The vague PowerPoint slideshow and examples they show don't paint the real picture of the facade they peddle. The Chevron Medical contribution percentage is another lie. The contribution you get as an employee is not the 100% amount you get as a retiree. Ask HR for the specific dollar amount than 100% represents. They'll dodge that question with all kind of BS the excuses (depends where you live, your age, etc). Don't fall for that. They only want to keep you in the dark. The bottom line is (from a pre-65 retiree), the Chevron Retiree Medical plans are expensive. My advice is that you continue working until you are 65, if you can.

Ask anyone who has already accumulated $1MM in their retirement savings and they'll tell you with a genuine smile they feel good about the future. It's not easy for most of us to amass that much at Chevron even after working there for 20+ years. Granted, I know a few who have saved more than that are much better paid than me and don't have a family or the overhead like me.

@4ltn, Why are you fussing so much about the retiree with $2.1MM in his 401k? Is it because you don't have more than that already while you shoot for $5MM? Yeah, right. Keep fooling yourself.

4hez, 3uuk seems to have hit a nerve. Go ahead and milk the system for all you can while you brag about your amazing $2.1MM. It's all about 'me' isn't.

"I'm on Obamacare" - LMAO.!!!! That's a loser post I will ever make, I can promise you that!

Health Care is one of the most important things in your life. Treat it that way and with respect.

For most millennial software engineers like myself, that is definitely chump change. I have over that already and would not think of retiring until I hit at least $5MM or more, gramps. I also have a pension, not Chevron. But I don't live in a double wide. Keep clipping coupons, cheating your fellow taxpayers and playing poor to get undeserved benefits while truly poor and needly people have to struggle. And you can sleep at night? LOL. Pathetic.

You don't have a clue, do you @3uuk? Go read about the 3 milestones for getting into the Chevron Retiree Medical Plan one more time. I'm on Obamacare at present. If that becomes unavailable for me down the road, that is one of the so-called milestones where I can join. As for my 401k balance, I have the comfort of being financially secure the rest of my life. No debts, mortgages and enough liquid cash in the banks to easily reach 65 and collect full retirement age social security before even thinking of touching those savings. You think $2.1MM to be chump change? Yeah, right. You wish you had half what I earned. Lol.

3ngr, What are you to do when Obamacare and its subsidies go away? You're blocked from CVX Retiree Health Plan until age 65. For someone who is so 'clever' and takes advantage of any loop hole he can find, you have a relatively small Chevron 401K. Get used to living frugally.

@2sme, its true. I pay $50 and the Feds subsidize my health insurance policy by $1,200. It sounds unfair to many, but its legal. I'm not cheating if it's the law and I qualify. I have to give up a few things to get it though. I need to live on $28,000 a year of reported taxable income. But that's not difficult for me because I had set aside over $200k in CDs and bank savings over my lifetime. While I wait for my 65th birthday, I am required to conform to the lifestyle this income affords me. It's a choice we all make each day. I made mine. I have just over $2MM in my Chevron 401k I don't to touch until after I start pulling in Social Security and switch over to the Chevron Retiree Medical Plan. To live life well requires long range financial planning and a little luck.

@NYl0bIP-2phj Wow, "the government" pays for your insurance, yet you're not even a government employee! That's interesting, that whole concept, "the government" being able to pay for things. What makes it quite the oxymoron is "the government" produces no revenue at all, they only redistribute the earnings of others. So essentially, what you are saying is that you are using other's tax dollar's, and a tiny, infinitesimal amount of your own, or perhaps none, if you have little no income to declare, for your insurance. So, your neighbors and coworkers are paying for your insurance.

No need to cry - "well I've paid my share" or "I've paid in for years", because, so have the rest of us. But the majority of the rest of us are paying our own way through life and not riding on other's tax dollars. Unless, of course, you are on Welfare or Medicaid, or Foodstamps.

You PAY IN to OASDI (SS) and Medicare, so those you actually directly pay for. Big difference. The rest of the loser entitlements just reduce the solvency of a once great country and it's ability to pay debt, build infrastructure, and God forbid, defend itself!

I have an ACA insurance plan where I pay a monthly premium of only $50 and the government pays the $1,200 balance in subsidy. It's a good insurance policy, valued at $1,250 per month. That's about the cost the Chevron retiree plan was wanting to charge me. So I figure that both provide roughly the same quality of coverage, the only difference is I pay $50 through Obamacare and get to save $1,200 each month, which I'll put to good use down the road.

Could someone give an example of how much they are paying for the coverage? What are the main coverage advantages vs ACA?

Please excuse the horrendous misuse of words in the previous post. Makes a message read like a grammatical train wreck. I blame it squarely on Apple. Their spell checker and intuitive insertion of words is the pits. If iOS11 doesn't fix this, my next smartphone will be a Samsung.

2mup, the taxable income that the ACA is concerned with is the total income you will report on your IRS 1040 tax return for 2017. This is normally your wages, any 401k or IRA distributions you expect to receive, bank savings account and CD earned interest. If you are receiving dividends on pre-tax accounts, you must count that too. Otherwise, if your dividends are reinvested, then it doesn't count. If you live on <$40,000 in total income and not report more than that on your 1040 tax return, then IRS likely the ACA may have an insurance plan that's affordable. Go for nothing less than a Silver level plan. The Bronze plans are no good.

-oto is right on this topic. The 100% Chevron Retiree Medical use to be worth something before Dave O'Reilly separated the Retirees from the Employees insurance pool. Since then the medical benefit has continuously decreased to what -oto has described. I joined up this year after being retired in April 2016 layoffs. The costs were a shocker, especially since I still have kids in college and I am on the family insurance plan. At least for now an ACA plan is not any better cost wise. Only if you ca live off of <$40,000 per year in reported income. I just put the premium on auto pay and do not worry about it during the year.

The only question I have is for the ACA income limits: does all income including dividends and capital gains count, or does just earned income (wages) count against me? If it is the latter I would have a chance at qualifying, otherwise no way would I qualify. My retirement savings and pension lump sum are too much.

That's where things are going, 1zhy. Politicians gravitate to where the votes are. In the fight to find some kind of solution to the medical insurance problem, in particular, high premiums, it's the employed who are in the majority, not the jobless and early retired people. Premiums will be lower for those on employee insurance and those who are not will be screwed. Better have a Plan B.

Next this guy will want this board "to explain the facts of life to me".

Everyone who is not employed with company insurance is getting screwed.

The choice of ACA medical plans available are getting slimmer each year. Nonetheless, it's a good choice from the standpoint of having medical insurance at a more affordable price, but it's not for everyone. Those who get the highest government subsidies have the lowest premiums, but in order to get the high subsidies, one must have lower taxable incomes. If you work or pull too much money from your retirement savings, your premiums go up. Earn too much and you don't get any subsidy. The premiums go way up, as high as the pre-65 Chevron Retiree Medical in some cases. I tell you, medical insurance in the US is very high and out of control. You might find yourself deciding to go without insurance and pay out of pocket for routine minor doctor visits. Do some research on the internet. I've heard several legit sources saying that you don't have to pay full price for medical services if you don't have insurance. You can actually negotiate price with doctors and hospitals. They don't advertise this, but they do negotiate price.

OP, first of all, the key word in Retiree Medica is "Retiree". Chevron retirees are in a much smaller pool of insureds than the pool you were in as an employee, so the insurance rates will not be as discounted. Secondly, the typical average age of retirees are older, thus increasing the rates even more. Thirdly, Chevron's contribution amount (in Dollars) for Retiree Medical is not as high as when you worked for the company. The net result of all this, unfortunately, are high premiums. The retirees who suffer the most are the Pre-65 class. Those who haven't reached their 65th birthday pay very high premiums. Only after reaching 65 do you catch a break of sorts. At 65, you must enroll in Medicare Advantage. The Chevron Post-65 medical premiums drop considerably because Medicare covers most of your medical services. The Chevron Retiree Medical Plan essentially becomes a supplemental policy to cover other services that Medicare won't. As for the coveted "Chevron Medical Contribution" that most of us strive so long to reach 100%, you'd be disappointed to find out how many Dollars that 100% contribution really is. It equals about $95 per month once you reach 65 years old. That's right, that's all you get. The Chevron contribution is higher before age 65, but the killer premiums make the whole thing a non economical. The latest changes in 2017 to the Chevron Retiree Medical Plan make things more difficult. If you enroll in Retiree Medical and drop it, you can no longer get back in. The best thing, IMO, is to forego Chevron Retiree Medical until after you are 65. You shouldn't be surprised why Chevron HR don't breath of a word about the real details Retiree Medical while you are working for the company. They don't even provide their retiring employees with much information either. You find out the rest the story once you are out of Chevron and on your own. So, one takeaway for you working stiffs at Chevron, don't go around bragging about how much your Chevron Medical Contribution percentage is. It is really not worth much.