Holland | Retirees Fear Dramatic Pension Cuts Under New law

Bill Hendershot and his wife live on his union pension and Social Security. Hendershot, a retired Consolidated Freightways long-distance truck driver, gets around now in a 12-year-old Toyota Corolla. The couple still pay a mortgage on their home in Canal Fulton.

And he’s among a huge group of union retirees nationwide who could see their monthly private pension payments cut as much as 60 percent under a national reform measure signed into law in December by President Barack Obama.

“I could lose two-thirds of my pension,” Hendershot said. “You ask, how could I live? You talk about drastic reductions. … We don’t live big now.” read more

http://www.ohio.com/business/union-...c-pension-cuts-under-new-federal-law-1.567186

Just more proof that our entire system is NOT set up to benefit the working man. There is very little reward nowadays for those who did the right thing for their entire life and worked for a living. Pathetic to say the least. It's become so pathetic that many people don't even acknowledge whether a company has a pension or not anymore, since most know that you might never get it anyway. It's more of just a carrot dangling in front of you nowadays.......but you'll never touch it.
Sickening.

yep, but no one will write a book on "how to live off section 8, welfare, food stamps, and handouts", so im stumped. Its like a secret club that we cant get into...so I have to go and give it my best, like a sucker....

Yep. That's the way it works for us peasants Bill. I can't figure out how to join the elite club of wealth, and I have too much pride to join the EBT club card holders, so here I sit in the middle, paying for the band, while the rich are busy dancing, and paying for the EBT club, while they grow roots from their ass to their couch.

I think that the picture is becoming more clear for us that made retirement plans at an early age, made sacrifices to achieve those goals, and now have politicians pissing all over our plan. Rotten bastards.

one of the problems is that way to many driver's counted only on this pension and did not have a 2nd back up retirement plan of some type , and spend & lived pay check to pay check while working , still see it today with some co-workers , they got fancy diesel trucks & harley's & boats & etc , but no 2nd retirement plan for a back up . but whatever to each there own .

The sad part is that those of us with a pension should have been able to count on that retirement being there when we became eligible. So realistically, it should have ben safe to spend our money while working, knowing that the pension was enough to survive on after we retire. But clearly, that looks like it was a mistake to count on the pension. Personally, I've quit worrying about my retirement years since I might not make it that long anyway. I live more for today than I ever have in my lifetime. I'm going to enjoy life while my kids are still around regardless of what my retirement years will be like financially. My retirement and savings account are worthless to me when I'm pushin' up daisies.

Can't remember the date it was four or five years ago central state came to the terminal(da) to go over our pension. We were all told what you have accrued can not be taken away. Well here we are. Time to live life, sixty to seventy hour work week is in the past

They were obviously lying through their teeth.

I remember when Hoffa was re-elected years ago, the pension/pay cuts were made two months after the election, and he claimed that the pension funds hadn't told him that the cuts were in the works. I call b.s. He knew about the pending cuts, and told the pensions funds to be quiet until after his re-election. I can't prove it, but there is no chance that he didn't know about the cuts BEFORE the election.

buffalobill said:

yep, but no one will write a book on "how to live off section 8, welfare, food stamps, and handouts", so im stumped. Its like a secret club that we cant get into...so I have to go and give it my best, like a sucker....

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Northern Flash said:

I think that the picture is becoming more clear for us that made retirement plans at an early age, made sacrifices to achieve those goals, and now have politicians pissing all over our plan. Rotten bastards.

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AMEN, On the Rotten Bastards!!!!!

Northern Flash said:

The sad part is that those of us with a pension should have been able to count on that retirement being there when we became eligible. So realistically, it should have ben safe to spend our money while working, knowing that the pension was enough to survive on after we retire. But clearly, that looks like it was a mistake to count on the pension. Personally, I've quit worrying about my retirement years since I might not make it that long anyway. I live more for today than I ever have in my lifetime. I'm going to enjoy life while my kids are still around regardless of what my retirement years will be like financially. My retirement and savings account are worthless to me when I'm pushin' up daisies.

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I fully agree, live for today. Our pension is apart of our pay package, but now we spent that time away from our family's and at the end of the road they will just kick us off the bus. I go to work, come home and live for today...! The mighty union, a business agent talking about the strength of the union, A punk kid telling me that I didn't know what I was going to talk about. Funny, I have a son older than he is and I was on the picket line to get that so called out dated stuff in our contract. I had to leave it was affecting my health, nothing is worth that for any amount of money.! I guess it was a wake up call to me or take time to smell the roses. Flash knows my wake up call was over my wife's health issue. I was only with my new employer for three months at that time. 4 trips to the ER...24,000. I lost count on all the doctors we had to see. 20 days at home with her and my employer would call weekly for an update on her condition never once asked when I was coming back. The union will take care of themselves, YRC will steal everything not nailed down but they will sell off and lease back what is left. Now Obama wants the left overs...! Hoffa, I won't even get started on that topic....but I feel for my friends and co-workers who worked for and earned the pension they need to live on monthly. The Obama Plan is better anyway, work an 8.00 hr job for 30 hrs a week. Drive a new car, live in a new section 8 house, free health care, ebt and all the free sign up for stuff. Why does someone actually go out and work hard anymore.???

Just live and enjoy each day.............!

I had always counted on my pension being there in the end. (although still not even close to being old enough to start drawing it) The pension was always a factor in the wife and I's financial planning for the long term and retirement years. So I have to assume most other people had the same way of thinking. And to see the older guys get screwed out of the pension that they had been banking on, is a complete travesty. I hope that when the retirees finally felt comfortable enough to retire, that they had most of their assets paid off and some other investments to cash out of, because if not, now they're screwed.
So is this the way an American worker should be treated? Pull the rug out from under them AFTER it's too late for them to make another plan and other financial adjustments? This is just wrong.
It' pretty sad to know that NOT EVEN a pension is safe and guaranteed anymore. The way that this country is run nowadays, it's no wonder so many people throw in the towel and just live off Govt. handouts. Damn thieves.

And one other thing......
For you younger guys who don't look into the future and make proper financial plans, you might want to take these guy's advice and start making them, and don't put all of your eggs in one basket.(like a pension) Make other investments also.
And for you younger guys that don't really care about this issue because you're still young and don't feel for the retirees and this situation, think about it this way, how would you like your pay to be cut down to 1/3 of what it currently is?
Well that's the impact of this law, and how it affects the retirees. The difference is that you younger guys can move on because you are still "marketable" as an employee, the retirees are not. Most retirees can't go back into the work force.