Posted on 12/30/2018 6:14:10 AM PST by Galatians328
A new data analysis by ProPublica and the Urban Institute shows more than half of older U.S. workers are pushed out of longtime jobs before they choose to retire, suffering financial damage that is often irreversible.
(Excerpt) Read more at propublica.org ...
” A lot of 50-somethings got it plus a couple of newbies to “make it look good” in case anybody sued.”
My company laid off (fired) 1500 over the age of 55 in one day. They had us sign a paper that we would not sue or we didn’t get our severance pay. IBM
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Say what ya want about Greene, but he helped protect the workers from some of the hair-brained pipe dreams of management. With divestiture I went through ABI, ATTIS and Lucent before finally landing back at NYTel (then a division of NYNEX.)
You said it. In a previous life I was a contractor for a company doing work for the government. They decided they didn't like paying my contractor fee so they hired a (much younger) recent college grad to take over the project I was running, and canceled my contract (which I understood happens). I turned in my badge and left. About six months later my former boss calls me out of the blue and asks me to come back and work on the same project. The person they hired (no longer employed there) screwed it up so bad the sponsor was going to pull the project for lack of performance. I wrote them a proposal with double my fee, request for my own workspace in a secure area, and time from a hardware systems analyst and software engineer. Also the provision that I would only work on this project and when it was done so was I. They bought it without a whisper of protest. Turns out I could have probably gotten three times my contractor fee if I wanted (but even I'm not that greedy). The job got done and the company kept its business with the sponsor. They wanted me to stay on but I had other things to do. Still, they gave me a nice bonus for pulling them out of the fire. So, yes, you get what you pay for.
I’m close to getting early SS. What are your thoughts on taking that option as opposed to waiting for the max? I’m in a similar situation as yours. Thank you
“They had us sign a paper that we would not sue or we didn’t get our severance pay.”
I had to sign a similar document. Pretty standard tactic of any Human Resources department. They have you over a barrel.
I retired 5 years ago and have never looked back. Do it while your health is good and you can enjoy life. You’ll be glad you did.
I am in my mid-70s and have been through this, so I write from experience.
1. Retirement planning (and acting on that planning) has to start at age 30 for the fullest benefit. OTOH it is never too late to start and anything is better than nothing.
2. The very best retirement plan is a side gig that makes money. This both softens the blow of a forced retirement or layoff and makes it less likely because one will have more confidence at work and be viewed as a go-getter.
3. Always have a contingency plan on what to do if there is a layoff, a plant closing, etc. Keep this updated at least once a year and every few months is better. When something bad happens, the ones who come through the best are those who are at the front of the pack.
4. Be willing to retire in a lower cost of living location.
I had some dicey times in my career, and was laid off once, but by following rules 1-3 I was able to keep my head above water and found a better job. Then rule 4 allowed DW and I to voluntarily retire a decade ago.
If you are reading this and young, plan to retire at 40-years-old. You won’t need to worry about your boss after that. After that work becomes to buy the toys you want.
Interestingly, one of the most common complaints I hear about young “workers” is that they’re not willing to.
Congrats on being able to work in a government job. Not a dig. I just could not do it. It would be torture for me to watch the daily processes and have to keep quiet about it.
2. The very best retirement plan is a side gig that makes money. This both softens the blow of a forced retirement or layoff and makes it less likely because one will have more confidence at work and be viewed as a go-getter.
YEP!
Same thing I got. I was one of only a few laser test engineers nationwide for a company in California. Shortly after I was laid off I received a call from my young replacement. He was wanting to pick my brain on the equipment. I told him to work hard and read everything he could get his hands on during his own time. He’d pick it up over time while gaining experience in the ever evolving field. He wanted me to just tell him how to fix it! I told him I was let go so the company effectively said I was no longer needed. You’ll figure it out. He told me to “f” off and hung up.
“I’ll eat Dog food to leave...”
I recommend grain free. I have two black labs who require it for their skin. I usually taste it to know if they’re getting quality. They taste like what they say they are -the salmon and pumpkin tastes like salmon and pumpkin. And it can be stored open. Always wondered if it would be good, cheap survivalist food.
Yep. Two days after my 55th birthday, after 22 years with the company.
It happens to everybody. The division I worked for a large corporation got sold. I didn’t get on with top management, because although correct, I was young, stupid, and challenged them on certain decisions, so I wasn’t given any options to jump back to the mother-ship.
That’s why anyone, particularly women, who devote their lives to a job or company, instead of family, church, or their own interests, is a fool.
I worked in academia (a public university). In the ‘90s there was a court decision that made mandatory retirement ages illegal. Many of my colleagues were working well into their 70s, even 80s occasionally. I didn’t enjoy the work that much and retired at 68. Never regretted it for a moment.
I see that every week in my part time gig at UPS. The turnover in their sort operation is ghastly. More than half quit before the end of the two week orientation period.
More than half of my coworkers are at retirement age, primarily for the health benefits. It's moderately physical activity, which has been a boon for me. All of us work part time, to include the supervisors.
“Say what ya want about Greene, but he helped protect the workers from some of the hair-brained pipe dreams of management. “
I liked what Judge Greene did! I paved the way for outside businesses to get into the Fiber-to-the-home business. It’s just that the mindset in the “Bell System” was and is, to this day, that it’s a private fiefdom. When the RBOCs were cut loose, they actually did business with private companies to deliver the first fiber systems to their subscribers. I was involved in one of them. But always in the back ground was AT&T trying to f*ck things up in their attempt to stay in business without any competition for the technology. In the Bell System, nobody wants to be first, and nobody wants to be last, so at least with several of the RBOCs (Bell South was a big one) aggressively looking to launch new technology, there was for a time, a forcing function.
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