I’ve been with the company 20+ years and am in my early 40s
I’m wondering what age do people typically start receiving buyout offers?
Any suggestions how to be offered one?
I began prior to 2004 and thus do have a pension, though I understand I can’t access it until I’m 55 or have 30 years. Does that change if I get an buyout offer?
Vesting happens really quickly and means you are entitled to a pension even though it could be really small. The "bump" is serious money and I feel really bad for folks who were let go just before reaching it.
We may be splitting hairs. Once you’re vested you won’t lose anything. If you’re tapped before becoming vested then technically you won’t lose anything (Because you weren’t yet vested) but I imagine it would feel that way because a chunk of your retirement financial planning will change for the worse. You can use the retirement calculator to see what you’d get in a few months as compared to dates in the future. That will give more accurate information than anything you’ll read here.
There is a group of people suing Ford who were SRD’d within months of becoming fully vested and I image they feel like they “lost” something. I know personally one person with 20+ years of service who was 54 when SRD’d and that person claims to have “lost” their pension because the opportunity to become fully eligible for retirement was taken from them. I don’t know that they lost everything but they lost enough to significantly change their retirement plans. And they weren’t planning on an early retirement.
Pretty sure there is only one "bump". It happens when you turn 55 or have 30 years service, whatever comes first
I think what you are reporting is pretty accurate. I was let go with 23.3 years of service and I am receiving a little more than half in pension compared to what I would have received with 30 years. I saw a large bump in pension when I turned 55. However, I did not see a sudden bump with 30 years of service according to the pension calculator. Rather my pension would have gradually doubled over the last 10 years in service over the first 20.
Stop the misinformation. No one "loses" a pension once vested. Normal, full retirement age is 65; however, you can start drawing a reduced pension at age 55. If you are let go prior to age 55 and was qualified for a pension, your pension becomes "deferred vested". You can then draw a pension once reaching age 55, or the full amount at age 65. Keep in mind, the amount is significantly reduced for not reaching that 30 year milestone. It happened to me - 22 years service - my pension is less than half of what a 30 year pension would have been. It hurts.
There is no need to guess on the pension. Everything pension wise is listed in the Summary Plan Description. Do yourself a favor and download it yourself from the benefits site. If you are vested for pension, you will get either a pension or lump sum. Your choice. It can not be taken away. NOBODY lost anything they had vesting for. Period.
New entrants to the pension plan ended in 2004. If you started in 2004 and made it through 2009, you would be vested. Those would be the last people in the pension plan. Vesting for pension is 5 years. If you are vested you will NOT LOSE what you are vested for regardless of how you left whether SRD, PRP, fired or just up and quit. The only thing you "lose" is any new future benefits because you are no longer employed by the company.
Your ford pension is vested after 5 years of service, you can’t lose it, but it may not be as much as you hoped for and you may not be able to access it when you want. My spouse who worked at ford for 5 years then went to a new employer still can collect a ford pension, albeit small. In fact, Ford is trying to buy out that pension again right now (first time was 2009ish). My spouse may take the lump sum this time.
I am like the OP, mid forties with 20+ years ford service. Honestly, neither my spouse nor I are counting on any Ford pensions or SS for retirement. We have always fully funded our 401ks and have other investments. Any pension or SS is a bonus in our minds.
"He had a friend that was 53 & had 29 years of service. He got NOTHING other than the severance package offered."
I don't think that's correct.
I think he STILL gets to collect his Pension when he turns 65.
??
I retired in 2017. There was an online tool that you could run your numbers and see what you would get under different scenarios. It included a number if Ford bought you out of any pension obligation. I took a buy out and sleep better at night because I did. (Took some of the money and bought an annuity. )
My hubby was SRD’ed in May 2019, “luckily” he qualified for retirement, at least 55 years old & had 10 years of service or 30 years of service & any age. Others weren’t as “lucky”. He had a friend that was 53 & had 29 years of service. He got nothing other than the severance package offered. There were a few others that we unfortunately in the same boat & they sued. Not sure what happened with their lawsuit.
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You get the pension accrued to that point. It isn't very big prior to 55, but you do get it. What you lose is eligibility for retiree health benefits. Which means, unless you have a spouse who will cover you, you will need to work until you are 65.
I assume my friend was not lying to me. The person was not yet 55 years of age in spite of years of service and claims that she will not collect a pension. With her date of hire a person became fully vested after 10 years of service and reaching the age of 55. Can’t imagine a person would be that upset over a story they made up.
There was more than one person in the SRD who was just short of 55 and just short of 30 years.
These people were ineligible for Ford retirement. One guy was a month short of 55 and they allowed him to work one extra month to be eligible for retirement.
Of course they did not lose money they themselves had contributed to their pension. What they did miss out on was the large Contribution bump that comes to the pension at 55 yrs old and also the large bump at 30 years of service.
Too many people were hanging onto a c-appy old Ford Job because of the promise of a nice pension. So you can understand the bitterness when they are almost at the finish line, the promise is revealed to of been false.
I call BS on @jgt. The person you personally know didnt "lose" their pension unless it was on the c-aps table. This is the kind of nonsense comment that gets people worked up.
You don't lose your pension if you have enough time to be vested. By now, everyone in the pension plan is vested as it was closed to new entrants in 2004. Nobody "lost" their pension. If you had 22 years vested, that's what you'll get when you collect. Provided you collect at 65. Collecting prior to 65 and it will get adjusted for age.
@jgt+17AreZ74
Are you sure that your friend "LOST" their pension?
Wouldn't they still get it.... just NOT at the payout level they may have been hoping for?
just sounds a bit too one-sided...
Each round of buyouts seems to target a different demographic and no one has shared who they want this time. SRD seemed to focus on removing people before their pensions increased significantly or they became eligible for pension. I personally know a person who had more than 20 years of service and was 54 years old. That person was tapped for SRD and lost their pension. I don’t know if their pension would have been retained had they taken PRP. It wouldn’t hurt to inquire about that.