If you do, count yourself among a dying breed. More and more companies that used to offer pensions to employees as a "reward" for loyalty are doing away with traditional pensions in favor of 401(k) or 403(b) plans.
"...Aloha Airlines' decision to terminate its pension, which was approved by its largest union this week, puts the carrier in the company of a growing number of employers who are getting out of the business of managing retirement money for workers.
In Aloha's case, the bankrupt company plans to turn its pension responsibilities over to a federal agency that promises to pay most of Aloha's obligations. Many other Hawai'i and Mainland companies are switching from pensions to retirement plans that give employees the right and responsibility to manage their own accounts.
"It's a very common employer trend," said James Starshak, an attorney specializing in retirement plans with Honolulu law firm Carlsmith Ball LLC. Stock market downturns at the end of the tech bubble in 2000 caused many companies to re-examine their pension programs as returns on pension trusts plummeted...."
The employees who will suffer the most are those who are nonunion workers because they have no collective bargaining agreements to negotiate. So even if you are contributing towards a pension today, there is no guarantee when you're old enough to collect on it that there will be anything near what you're expecting to collect in your fund.
Miulang
"...Aloha Airlines' decision to terminate its pension, which was approved by its largest union this week, puts the carrier in the company of a growing number of employers who are getting out of the business of managing retirement money for workers.
In Aloha's case, the bankrupt company plans to turn its pension responsibilities over to a federal agency that promises to pay most of Aloha's obligations. Many other Hawai'i and Mainland companies are switching from pensions to retirement plans that give employees the right and responsibility to manage their own accounts.
"It's a very common employer trend," said James Starshak, an attorney specializing in retirement plans with Honolulu law firm Carlsmith Ball LLC. Stock market downturns at the end of the tech bubble in 2000 caused many companies to re-examine their pension programs as returns on pension trusts plummeted...."
The employees who will suffer the most are those who are nonunion workers because they have no collective bargaining agreements to negotiate. So even if you are contributing towards a pension today, there is no guarantee when you're old enough to collect on it that there will be anything near what you're expecting to collect in your fund.
Miulang
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