I'd be very curious to hear about any employees who hired before 2003 and who haven't reached 50 yet who get laid off. Age 50 is the magic cutoff for keeping the old - good and presumably expensive - retiree medical benefits. If you leave the company before you turn 50, kiss those benefits goodbye. Sometimes I wonder if that's a factor in determining layoffs.
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I was let go before hitting 50 and lost this benefit. It was really a shame on BP.
I had almost 21 years with Amoco/BP (biggest polluter) laid off before age 50.
I'm losing my job a few months from hitting 10 years. Can't say for sure that it's a factor but it is disappointing to be close to the RRA vesting and not quite make it.
"If you were hired before April 1, 2004 and your employment is terminated due to a reduction in force, outsourcing, the sale or disposition of all or part of your employer to another company — and at termination, you are eligible for coverage under the BP Retiree Medical Plan — you will be eligible for the minimum retiree contribution percentage."
The key phrase here is: "- and at termination, you are eligible for coverage -". The earliest age you are eligible for coverage is 50. If you leave at 49 you are not eligible for coverage and will never be (unless you hire back later, but at that point you've lost your grandfathering into the old plan).
bp has numerous cases of terminating employees with 15 plus years of service and near the threshold. Being away by 1 yr, not uncommon for bp to get away with saying you were not close enough to retirement. That’s how bp plays mind tricks and honors the initial intend of avoiding “benefits” they claimed to offer at hiring and year after year benefits marketing promotions scams.. No sorries for the pain bp is going through. bp labor attorneys are well compensated to play that game. Some of them sleep well with those values. Watch out if you are not redundant during routine downsizing activities you will be a problematic employee in the off cycles. Same way they claimed the market ruin the economics; always others and never bp could see the foreseeable future when those benefits were offered.
"If you were hired before April 1, 2004 and your employment is terminated due to a reduction in force, outsourcing, the sale or disposition of all or part of your employer to another company — and at termination, you are eligible for coverage under the BP Retiree Medical Plan — you will be eligible for the minimum retiree contribution percentage."
You've asked a very good question. At times I do wonder if that was somehow a determination factor. When I worked there (Amoco heritage), I had often heard about the "magical" 50 year old phrase (I left when I was 55). People worked hard to be sure that they met that milestone. It was a frightening proposition that one could be fired before then. As one who has received the benefits of BP Retiree medical, I can tell you it makes a tremendous difference in expenses vs. COBRA.