posted on November 25, 2008 09:12:47 AM new
A friend of mine just told me her husband told her that UAW workers, after retirement, drew 90% of their wages. I am wondering if this is true. Her husband is a big Rush fanatic and I would love to know if there is any truth to this. I check Factcheck and snopes as well as googling. Could not come up with anything.
posted on November 25, 2008 09:14:34 PM new
I doubt the veracity of the 90% but the Big 3 negotiated these terms, with the UAW giving up higher wages in favor of higher pension benefits. The big 3 miscalculated. They now have a large number of pensioners they are indebted to. Don't blame the UAW. I'm sure they would have accepted higher wages per hour instead of increased pension benefits. A classic example of executives looking to short-term bonuses instead of long-term consequences.
posted on November 26, 2008 03:56:34 AM new
This seems to be the average 2007 pension from the UAW site. It doesn't seem staggering considering that one trip on one of those corporate jets is likely to cost much more than the ANNUAL pension received by the average UAW member!
What is the pension received by a typical autoworker?
A typical UAW-represented worker at Chrysler, Ford or General Motors who has reached eligibility for receipt of an 80 percent Social Security benefit receives just over $18,000 per year from his or her employer.
Autoworkers who retire prior to Social Security eligibility are entitled to a supplement which increases annual income from their employer to about $36,000. When retirees reach the age for an 80 percent benefit (age 63) or retire after that, they receive only the basic benefit, and the employer no longer pays the supplement.
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posted on November 26, 2008 05:38:40 AM new
Thanks for the info. I had a hard time believing it. Oh well, I guess I should have chosen differently with my life path!
posted on November 26, 2008 05:29:27 PM new
Those figures hardly seem excessive, depending on what their early retirement rules are. If they can retire after 10 years or so it's a different story of course. I took retirement this year, and while my gross is quite a bit lower, my take home pension is equal to 95% of my take home from my last full contract, and take home is all that really matters. My state has a sliding scale, and while a person can retire usually after 20 or 25 years, depending on age, the multiplier really goes up after 30 years of service. I had 32 years of full time service so I'm at the top of the payout percentage. If 36k pre-SS is all they get, I'm not sorry I didn't spend 30 years turning bolts.
