Is a pension really worth it?

kelsonsa, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jan 22, 2019

ok, I see I did my calculation based on month not years, now it sounds a bit better. Apologize. Does anyone know of any other hospital west coast that provides pensions?

AgentBeast, MSN, RN · Jan 22, 2019

You forgot to multiply by years of service. It's $1075.90 in your example.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Jan 22, 2019

Kaiser Permanente would be one of few places on the West Coast that still offer a true pension. The UC Hospitals offer pension that changed over the years and is not as good as if one were hired prior to 2016. Health Department employees (i.e., County Hospitals) also offer pension which vary depending on the particular agency.

RNperdiem, RN · Jan 22, 2019

Trouble is, nothing is guaranteed in the long run. A company can decide to phase out pensions, change conditions or water down benefits.

**LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM** · Jan 22, 2019

4 hours ago, RNperdiem said:
Trouble is, nothing is guaranteed in the long run. A company can decide to phase out pensions, change conditions or water down benefits.

Agreed. I would not ever depend on receiving a pension from an employer in this day and age. Obviously investments like 401ks are by nature subject to market fluctuations and there is always a chance you could lose everything, but I'll take that over the promise of a pension any day.

Wolf at the Door, BSN · Apr 12, 2019

On 1/22/2019 at 3:46 PM, LibraSunCNM said:
Agreed. I would not ever depend on receiving a pension from an employer in this day and age. Obviously investments like 401ks are by nature subject to market fluctuations and there is always a chance you could lose everything, but I'll take that over the promise of a pension any day.

Right. Kaiser wants to take away pension from nurses during last contract negotiations. Nurses still have it for now. I think you will be grandfathered into something whenever it does happen meaning it should only affect the newly hired.

Ucsf does not match with its retirement plan.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Apr 12, 2019

Yes, pensions are going the way of the Dodo bird. But I did my Dad's taxes this year (he is 82). He has four pensions(military, two aviation companies he worked for, and a VA one), totaling about $3500 a month, plus social security. Plus he gets interest from some conservative investments AND he has a Roth and a traditional IRA.

He had a pretty modest salary for most of his life, but he lived below his means and was a prolific saver and investor (VERY conservative, though). But having those pensions is such a great thing for his quality of life. It's a shame they have basically disappeared for the younger generations.

Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM · Apr 13, 2019

On 1/22/2019 at 10:46 AM, kelsonsa said:
Is finding a employer who provides a pension worth it? I have thought about working for Kaiser but I'm reading there union contract and it states "shall provide a monthly income commencing at age 65 of 1.45% of final average monthly compensation over the sixty (60) highest consecutive months out of the last one-hundred and twenty (120) months of employment." So after 10 years their pay is 51.53. I hear Kaiser is one of the best for pensions. So lets say after 10 years pay is 51.53 per hour. 51.53x12(hour days)=618.36 per day x 3 (days worked per week), 1,855.08 per week x 4 (weeks in a month)= 7,420.32 <- per month in the 10th year worked. x .0145 (the retirement) = 107.59 ..... so their “pension” is paying $107/month give or take b/c its over 60 highest consec months?? Or did I calculate wrong b/c that seems not worth it. Educate me. Is this right? Anyone have any great plans out there?

It's worth it's weight in gold.

I have one living parent who earns over over $4,000 per month and not ONE PENNY comes from a 401K plan or savings. As long as they have a heartbeat--that check comes in.

How?

My other parent, now deceased, also had a pension. I'l be happy to share the breakdown...these are estimates.

$1,500 from social security

$1,300 from one pension, living parent

$1,200 from one pension, deceased parent.

Now...here is the good part: My living parent has been retired for 22 years. In 22 years they have collected well over $1 million from a combination between pensions and social security plans. So that permitted them to add substantially to savings over the years and not touch what they had saved in other types of investments over the years.

Nobody knows how long you are going to live past retirement. Pensions used to be common with every hospital and now you'll be hard pressed to find a hospital that provides them.

offlabel · Apr 14, 2019

If you are a 20 something RN and don't contribute your maximum amount to at least a traditional if not a Roth IRA yearly (about $6000) you are out of your mind. It's easy, you hardly feel it and you'll be well into the low 7 figures by the time you retire. That doesn't include any retirement benefits from your employment. I didn't take this advice and I'm 2 million dollars poorer than I would be right now.

LibraNurse27, BSN, RN · Apr 14, 2019

My county hospital in CA gives us a really good pension but of course there is always the fear they will take it away! For now for me it outweighs the fact that the pay is lower than Kaiser and other private hospitals in the area. ?

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Apr 14, 2019

On 4/12/2019 at 8:59 AM, Horseshoe said:
Yes, pensions are going the way of the Dodo bird. But I did my Dad's taxes this year (he is 82). He has four pensions(military, two aviation companies he worked for, and a VA one), totaling about $3500 a month, plus social security. Plus he gets interest from some conservative investments AND he has a Roth and a traditional IRA.
He had a pretty modest salary for most of his life, but he lived below his means and was a prolific saver and investor (VERY conservative, though). But having those pensions is such a great thing for his quality of life. It's a shame they have basically disappeared for the younger generations.

Is his VA pension taxable? I am assuming this is for disability. It is my understanding that no pension from VA is taxable. Is that correct?

What about his military pension? I am assuming this is for serving 20 or more years and is a retirement pension. This is likely taxable on the Fed but maybe not to your state.

Some states do exclude public pensions from taxation, or tax them at a lower rate than private pensions and other sources of income.

Military service earns veterans many discounts for the rest of their lives. Law enforcement and perhaps other first responders often get discounts, too - like on loans, at stores, movies, restaurants, etc. While I greatly appreciate our veterans and do understand the dangerous nature of law enforcement, this is really not fair to those like nurses who work in dangerous places - ER, Psych, Home Health in bad neighborhoods, etc. Also, what about miners and others who work in severe environments - mills, agriculture, slaughter houses, probably others not coming immediately to mind.

Some places require employees to participate in (contribute a certain amount of their earnings to) the pension plan. Other employers do not - they pay for the entire pension.

There might still be some employers who don't take out Social Security, which means a retiree's (or disabled person's and any spouses or kids who are able to draw on that person's SS benefit) SS checks will be lower than if you work a long time where they do take out SS.

I wish I had known all of this way back when.