Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

25+ year and 50. Rule of 75 means nothing under Cingular plan. Lump Sum is just another 5% of salary yearly regardless and small interest credits. Discounts of mean little as others said can get better rates on street. Think of this way retirees from 20 years ago got home phone and such and who cares about that now. Technology is changing better, more bandwidth/data, less cost, etc the discount is not worth it. Medical shows me for $900+ monthly for individual alone so why would i want to give up 50% of severance for this.

i don't understand the sacasm, this is a big deal to some of us. I am 47 with 20 years and my pension lump sum right now is 250. Under the old formula i would be at 380 at age 51 and jumps to 700 at age 52 when i hit MOD 75.

That’s a pretty good chunk of change for just hitting MR 75 hope your not too negatively affected with the new rates. If you don’t mind me asking what Legacy company are you with and what level

i don't understand the sacasm, this is a big deal to some of us. I am 47 with 20 years and my pension lump sum right now is 250. Under the old formula i would be at 380 at age 51 and jumps to 700 at age 52 when i hit MOD 75.

I don't know what the new numbers are at 51 and 52, will tell you in late Feb and then i will know if staying to MOD 75 really matters and how much the new contribution changes really matter.

I hope by decreasing the payout that increased the chances of me and others making it that long.

Not sure i get all the hate, my status in life is not affected whether you are up or down, I hope we all do well.

Pension is 50 cent, then you hit MR75 goes up to a million.

" My penision lump sum estimates at 3x higher if I wait until the exact day I hit magic 75. Even 1 day shy is 3x less. So it depends on your pension program."

Agreed, and they are not all calculated the same way. I have no significant difference before or after MR 75.

My penision lump sum estimates at 3x higher if I wait until the exact day I hit magic 75. Even 1 day shy is 3x less. So it depends on your pension program.

There is no compelling reason to stay and try to hit MR 75 anymore. For those non bargained affected by the recent announcement that the company will no longer provide the healthcare insurance subsidy unless you leave this year, that was really the final straw. So if you are non bargained and hitting MR 75 at some point this year, by all means don't quit before then, get to MR 75. And then retire at end of year. For everyone else, MR 75 is essentially meaningless. The retiree "discounts" are a complete joke. I can beat the "discount" as an active employee, let alone as a retiree.

“ Four years until I am at 75, wondering if I should hold tight or not. Would like to see some non troll thoughts on this also.”

If you leave now, you find your own insurance. If you stay, the company will offer you a plan, but you will pay the entire premium each month if you retire with MR75 in 4 years. Right now that’s in the neighborhood of $1200 a month. The question you need to answer is how many months of premiums do You have to cover between MR75 and Medicare eligibility at 65. Will your monthly income at retirement allow you to cover the premiums? At 65 you will most likely have to buy your own medicare supplemental plan.

Assuming one doesn't get any medical supplement (I don't get one) the only real benefits to becoming retirement eligible are you can choose to take your pension as a lump sum or an annuity and you can quit anytime and not worry about leaving all your bonus on the table. If retire before becoming retirement eligible you can only take pension as a lump sum and if you quit (vs retire) and are not on payroll when the bonus is paid in March you lose it.

Without medical, your retiree benefits will be:
1) pay more for AT&T cell phone service than your price as an employee and more than you will with some other company if you shop around.
2) pay more for AT&T television service (if you could get it and didn't want something that buffers) than your price as an employee and more than you will with some other company if you shop around.
3) pay more for AT&T internet service (if you could even get it) than your price as an employee and more than you will with some other company if you shop around.
4) thank you for your service" retiree letter that you'll have to print yourself

There is no retirement benefit now, unless you're part of the executive class with a golden parachute lined up. For the rest of us, it's just a bi-weekly paycheck until we're ready to stop working or find employment elsewhere.

It depends on when you were hired and if you're bargained or non-bargained for. I am bargained for and was hired in 1997 and hit MR75 in 2017. As long as the Federal Reserve doesn't raise the interest rates then my pension lump sum will always increase. It may not go up as much as in the past but I'm not staying past 2021. I'll be 59 1/2 years old soon and will be retiring with pension lump sum, 401K and not looking back. Good luck to everyone else on reaching your goals.

I am not sure there are any benefits except salary and current on the job benefits. If you did not have 5 years of service by 12/31/1999, you do not qualify for subsidized health care anyway per the faq on hronestop. So even though I get retiree healthcare, it is unsubsidized and is over 1,000 a month. It is cheaper to use the marketplace. I would still get retiree dental and vision plus mobility discounts.

HRA is not going away for people already receiving it or retired before the end of last year.

the only one i want to see now is is there still a balloon, albeit a smaller one, of the pension when you hit rule of 75. So my current balance did not change, and next year they will contribute less. But when the new Fidelity calculator comes out i will compare what i would have gotten on my 52nd b-day compared the new calculation. That is the remaining benefit for me. Your situation will vary. Other benefit is i am not sure i can find the same tele-work job with the same pay, and am too lazy to try until they push me out

Four years until I am at 75, wondering if I should hold tight or not. Would like to see some non troll thoughts on this also.