[Ed753]

My guess is that they were classified as management. Usually management employees are not eligible for union representation. As bad as this is, we should not forget that the wage workers would have been in the same boat if not the the United Auto Workers.

Your guess would be wrong.....

Delphi's (just like GM's) "white collar" are not union, just like most "white collar" jobs in the US?
- Personally, I have never been part of a union at any of my 6 stops in the automotive industry.

We have heard about this issue for years; the way I understand it, GM didn't have to make them whole, so they didn't.
We have something called PBGC, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation but I am not sure where that fits in, do they only cover a certain portion, meaning the more you made, the bigger your pension was, and the larger your loss.

Today, "pensions" are going away, most companies that had them no-longer do for new hires, and most companies are trying to get them off the books. I was allowed to "cash out" my early career pension, because of its low dollar amount, I made crap back then and was only there for 4 years. When I left F-M I couldn't close it out, as it was over $20,000 but then they wanting to get them off the books offered me it present/cash value, rolled it into an IRA. My wife works for a bank, they froze hers, now it only earns a set percentage, and she instead gets a 5% lump-sum in her 401K to offset the contributions stopping (on-top of the 5% 401K match). Similar situation with my sister and the credit union she works at.

 

[Ed753]

I had my pension frozen and then converted to 401k in I believe 2000 or 2001.

As I said, I'm really torn on how to feel and what the right response is. Perhaps the unions and executives that are all set can share a little of the pain, especially the executives making the decisions and whose future is well covered money-wise.

I know there are all sorts of things wrong and impossible about my thoughts. I simply have a gut feeling of wrongness but no idea what to do. I guess I feel the wrongness in that the executives and unions covered their backs and left everyone else to flounder and you and I to pick up the tab.

Did any GM salary employees or retirees lose their pension? Remember, every one of these years-long big pension Delphi employees started as GM employees........ (GM spun-off Delphi in 1999)

 

[Ed753]

My father was a salaried engineer and retired in '99. He did not lose his pension, but he took a haircut on the payments and health insurance after the bankruptcy. Been 6 years since he passed so memory is getting foggy but I think it was roughly equal to his SS payment.

My dad retired in?..... around 2003, he was GM hourly (UAW) he didn't lose anything, although I remember when things were melting down at GM in 2007/2008; he was concerned, my sister just bought her first house, I bought my second house (and hadn't yet sold the first one) I remember my dad saying; "I might be able to help one of you, but I'm not sure I can help both of you".

In your dad's case, (hypothetically) if $3,000/month ($36,000/year) goes to $1,500/month ($18,000/year) AND have to pay for your own health insurance, one would certainly notice and likely have to drastically alter your lifestyle, and I'm sure many were forced to go back to work (or spouses were forced to continue working).

 

[Ed753]

Yeah I remember him being chapped at the UAW guys not losing anything, but the salaried guys getting whacked. Thinking about it more I now also recall, GM was trying to buy out the non union pensioners post bankruptcy for a cash payment. He asked my advice and I said don't give up the monthly payments, plus if it was in your benefit why would GM be pushing it? A lot of my historical IBM cynicism was in play with respect to pensions. Of course in hindsight due to short life, he would have made out better with the payoff, but you can't really plan for that.

They want to get rid of the liabilities, they usually figure it out, but your father sounds like my M-I-L, she was getting a portion of my F-I-L's pension after he passed, I said don't cash it out; because she didn't need the lump sum.. it wasn't 2-3 years, and she was gone; got ~$150K lump sum instead of ~$30K in monthly payments. "She was right" 😕