Thread regarding Northwestern Mutual layoffs

I don't think COVID had anything to do with NM eliminating the 401K match. I've spoken with several people in underwriting and they say 2020 was very busy. NMs financial statement shows insurance revenue increased in 2020.

NM isn't alone is suspending the 401(k) match. I hear this over & over again at many companies. This was especially so during the height of the pandemic. What will be interesting is to see if companies post COVID-19 bring back the 401(k) match in order to be competitive in their hiring and benefits.

And, will they start to require employee's to come back to the office. I've heard some companies say they will make exceptions for parents who still need to be home with children which is utter bull. People choose to have kids and if their employer requires you to be in the office then that's what's required for the job. Those with no children or adult children are tired of the advantages given to parents when they are expected to carry the load. Maybe it's time for people to have less children and go back to one parent working instead of whining about how hard it is to be a full-time working parent.

The next thing employees will complain about is having to go back into the office if they don't want to get vaccinated or not wanting to go to the office and risk being with unvaccinated employee's. The office is like the real world....you have to dance around the minefield of those with opposing viewpoints.

Yes the past is over but comparing past to present and talking about it is fine. That's how we measure, in part, where we're heading. This forum is also a place to talk about issues impacting the employees and hopefully hold leadership accountable. NM could have just change the level of 401K match rather than cut it completely. There are companies out there still matching 401K including West Bend Mutual.

1. The biggest savings for NM is the change in the amount they allow you to put into the Fixed Rate fund. The interest rate is superb and unbelievably did not change from 2020 to 2021. It is my understanding that it's the same rate given to NM shareholders. Messing with the rate would enrage the shareholders. So, decreasing the percentage saves NM tons of money especially as some flock to that fund for it's safety. Additionally, there isn't or wasn't an alternative cash option. They never allowed rollovers to the Fixed Rate fund which was a big reason I refused to rollover my prior 401k's.
2. High deductible plans are the route many companies are going. I know employees who were clamoring for one at NM because of the tax advantages and the fact that you can take your HSA with you when you leave NM.
3. NY - since Milwaukee is now a 'supposed' tech hub there is no serious need to run an operation in a place like NY which is so expensive. I said it years ago - you can't praise Milwaukee as a tech hub but still state that the talent in NY is needed. AVT is gone - LV was a huge mistake. It's long past time to close the operation in NY.

Employees need to stop comparing how NM was in the past. Those days are over. Pensions are also a thing of the past. The co. needs to be competitive in offering benefits that match what younger employees are looking for. And, like all companies - the younger generation is looking for different types of compensation, benefits & work environment. NM can no longer afford to be stuck in the past.
The moral of the story is take your pension and get out.

There are a few benefit that they've cut actually, and the problem is that some of them were permanent:

1. No 2021 contributions to 401k - apparently they are increasing the contribution to the cash balance pension for 2021 to achieve two things: create Free Cash Flow & reduce the amount of benefits that employees vest since the pension requires 3 years to vest.
2. You cannot increase the allocation (which is the mix of it inside of your total portfolio; not the percentage contribution) to the NM Fixed Rate Fund
3. Decrease the quality of the health insurance plans to offer only High Deductible plans as well as decrease their subsidy to them; their $500 contribution to our HSA is not an improvement if it was virtue of decreasing the plan's overall quality.
4. Friends at the NYC offices tell me they lowered the pay band for the Manhattanites in 2020.

NM is not being driven into the ground, but is not actually rewarding merit. Stagflation exists in the markets for the first time since the 70's, and it has also visited NM.

Great question! I always wondered IF the credit rating was deserved.

It's an accounting gimmick. The 4% match to the 401k is an actual cash flow. The 'contribution' to the cash balance plan doesn't need to be a cash outlay - at least initially. Which makes me wonder about the credit rating...are we really in such great financial shape?

The person who is leading the benefits cuts its Don Robinson. Look at his tracker good at Hewlett-Packard and other companies that he’s worked at he is just the token silver fox, shaking hands and kissing babies while behind the scenes taking away your benefits.

The company need a CHRO in human resources that also doesn’t play part time two face. In front of employee Townhall‘s he’s one person all smiles behind the scenes ask anyone in the human resources department, no one trust him or respects him.

Just retire and move back to California!

What new benefits were recently introduced?

Expense management. Someone take that Blackberry away from Schlifske.

What new benefits were introduce? When it comes to benefits, it's hard to beat the 401K match.

The bonus (aka variable pay) and cash balance pension have been around for years. This post is about a benefit being taken away. The cash balance pension was introduced several years ago to replace the guaranteed pension fund as a way to save the company money. When NM did that, they increased the company 401K match to help offset some of the employee lose.

You should probably educate yourself on the benefits package - 4% is being put in the cash balance pension that ALL employees get (rare benefit these days), and the fat bonus you got should more than make up for the difference in performance you'd miss out on not having the match in 401k. Part of the company's stellar performance was expense management, and this change helps out to the tune of $26M. Plenty of companies reduced salaries and cut 401k altogether - NM just introduced several NEW benefits as well. If you don't like it, plenty of other options out there.