Hey Pooch...better hope American Airlines doesn't go belly up, or that "Full Medical" is gone.
Along with a big chunk of your pension check.
It worked that way with me..... And our pension was backed up by the Michigan Constitution.
But our Governor failed to hold up his end of the deal, he back stabbed us. Set a president for other states, and pensions, as it was done in Federal Court, we took it as far as we could. Beware people.

Wish they'd have let us put into Social Security, instead of a private pension.

Yeah, it's a concern. But all we can do is keep our eyes on what's going on and watch what happens. I can't help thinking that they will have a hard time justifying it when they're spending so much money. They're repainting the entire fleet.

Yeah, the Mayor of Detroit was spending lots of money too.
Our pension money...lol....
Then we had the State do an audit.

Then he went to jail.

Paybacks are a 3itch.

But it doesn't get us our money back.
Or our, "Guaranteed Healthcare for Life"....

That's why it's almost always better to take care of your own finances and destiny than to have some government bureaucracy "take care" of it for you.

I remember seeing a news clip on Detroit's financial troubles.
Cant believe you guys got screwed over so bad I don't know how it works in the states.
But I was a local government employee for ten years in the UK
If the city I worked for had the same issues the employees would have brought the city to a stand still
Till some money was found to cover the pensions. did the federal goverment not do anything to help

The Federal Government were the ones that ruled they don't have to pay us the full pension, just partial.
We fought it to the Federal Courts. Our Michigan Governor allowed them to jump right over the State Constitution.
Which protected our pensions.

The Federal Courts also ruled we have 'NO' healthcare anymore from the City of Detroit. They don't have to uphold their obligations to us. We bailed the city out. That was the largest obligation they had in Detroit.
They now give employees a cash payment to purchase healthcare with. We got nothing.

We have to somehow find a way to pay for our healthcare, which was a big part of our retirement agreement, or take the 'free' ObamaCare, that has a $5,000.00 a year deductible. And if you don't 'buy' that, they fine you.
My 'free' ObamaCare, is about $250 a month, for me and the wife. I can't afford it. My pension 'was' a little above $20 grand a year.
And who needs healthcare, with a $5,000 deductible!

So we've found private insurance, it doesn't pay anything, but it gets us out of the 'fine', for not having health insurance.

The whole thing is a joke, a joke on people who previously had good healthcare.

Sad. Especially when your retired, and have no options at this stage in your life.
Looks like 'culling' the herd to me.
Just the way it is.

Hope people learn from this.

They are now planning on going from city to city, doing the same or worse to the retired employees.
Firemen, Police Officers, any employees of the city.

Their goal is to take the healthcare from them, then start over with a clean budget.
It's a way of dodging all the promises they've made.

Legally....pay attention here...this sets a legal president in regards to pension obligations.
Cities no longer have any. NO city.
So stand by folks....it's coming
Detroit was just first. And maybe we got the best deal that's coming down the pipe.

Stand by USA.....

A little over four years and I'm eligible. My friends say "you can't fish every day". Perhaps, but I'm willing to give it a shot...

We didn't have an option.
When I hired in, it was part of the paycheck.
We had an $80.00 a month deduction for our private 'healthcare' and pension plan.
They did not offer anything else, we had no choice to 'opt out'.
No way we could have 'bought' any supplemental insurance with a $900 a month paycheck.

This 'stealing' people's pensions is new.
Never been done before in the history of this country.
In 1970, nobody had a clue 'anyone' would ever do this to it's citizens.
It was unheard of.

Now.....not so much.
Times change...and we learn.
I was 22 years old.

I've learned.
So will this country.

Careful who you vote for.


Edit;
Oh, and BTW, I did "take care of myself", by putting some away each payday, and investing it wisely. If not for that I'd be living in a cardboard box.

Yes. Big companies are no better than the government. They work the same way and have the same opinion of their employees.
If it wasn't for unions, I wouldn't have a pension or health insurance. People who are anti-union don't understand that. American would love to do to us what the city did to you guys. They just can't because of contract agreements. But they're trying.
They're claiming poverty and buying new planes and repainting the fleet. I lost respect for the company years before I retired. It was one of the reasons I took the deal so quickly. I'd been dying to get out for a long time. I hadn't been happy for a while.

That is one sorry state of affairs murphy. for people who spent there lives helping other citizens
They bail the banks out to the tune of hundreds billions telling people there no other way (happened here in Ireland with the banks As well) sorry don't mean to get political or go off topic

It's OK marko, it's not 'politics', it's 'personal',....from me, to the members here.

Just a warning to people who are unaware, thinking "Oh, it's only Detroit, who cares..."
Because that's what they want.
The set the standard in Detroit.
Federal Court

Now the rest will follow right down the line, but maybe not such a 'good' deal.
The cities in this country are not in good shape.
They need a way to 'restart'....and the only way in on the backs of it's retiree's.

This is a personal message to anyone close to retirement age.
Best not plan on your promises, put some aside on your own, no matter what.
Or keep working.
Panzer is right.

Promises mean nothing anymore.

That's not politics....that's a personal message to members here.
Live and learn.

yea you guys are right - hopefully retirement will bring along new things to get into - I should be more positive about it. And Murphy what they did to you - is simply not right

Well, Hag, I'm almost 70 and my wife is 9 years younger than me. We work together in our real estate franchise, and quite frankly I have zero desire to stop working and sit at home.

We're not rich, but quite well off compared with most folk, but retirement is not an option....I just don't know what we'd do. We could buy a caravan and become "grey nomads", but I like being with my books and IT systems etc.

We will work on as long as it's fun, profitable and our (my) health holds up.

Just play...

FFFFLLLLLIIIIGGGGHHHHTTTTSSSSIIIMMMMSSSS!!!!!

I have 4 1/2 years before I can retire. Things I have planned are building my pit, guns, fixing up my car, vacations and hanging out with the wife and kids.

M Max ..... "We're not rich, but quite well off compared with most folk, but retirement is not an option....I just don't know what we'd do"

Not sure what to make of that statement Max. You're quite well off - meaning financially as long as you're working or if you guys retired you would still be in good shape so financially able to retire well ?

There must be plenty to do and see in Australia and elsewhere for retired folks and time to spend with family elsewhere, etc.

Plenty to do and see there. Go to the Alps, see where they filmed Heidi and The Sound of Music, visit the old Napoleanic battlefields like, hike to the Saint Bernard Pass, start a garden of Eidelweiss, go to the Oktoberfest celebrations, take a river cruise down the Danube, etc.

Hey OG.....I've been to the "Oktoberfest celebrations", in Sefeld{sp?) Austria.
Took a 30 day 'basket' furlough, with some of the Flight Crew, from NAF Sigonella Sicily.
Skied the Alps, and partied all night long. Met some girl from England. Unforgettable.
Only 'civi's allowed in a neutral country, took a train, loved that too.

Never had a better time in my life.
Great people, great country, back then.

Good idea, hope everything is still the same over there......

Hag, try getting into "stuff". Don't wait until retirement to get into a hobby. Use the time between now and retirement to get through whatever beginner issues you might have with any potential hobby, so that by the time you get to retirement, you're good enough at it to be able to have fun doing it, rather than getting annoyed about having to learn it (unless you want a challenge)...

...unless your "hobby" is international travel, in which case Las Vegas might be a good place to start.

Just to explain...we're financially OK, but couldn't afford to travel the world continually for the next few years. Anyway we've already travelled extensively. We've also seen most of Australia and feel that we know it well.

Basically we've already seen most of what is the world.

Look...we've a few years left yet, and there are a couple of trips we will still make, to Europe and the States in particular...to see people, not places particularly. I left England when I was 27 and basically have done nothing but live "overseas" ever since. I've had adventures and experiences that most people never have.

Work keeps me sharp, gives me interactions with society...something that most people lose as they get older.

My doc tells me that most old people really want to die, or at least don't put up much of a fight, simply because they feel irrelevant and outside society as a whole. So just curl up at home and die.

I don't want that.