RNS/Pensions/benefits

Nurses General Nursing

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Is it just me or are RN jobs getting way worse over the last 5 years in terms of benefits?

Does your RN job have a pension?

How are your benefits?

Is your health insurance expensive with big deductibles?

Do you pay for Short Term Disability and Long Term disability? 

What state are you in?

What kind of employer? (hospital, state, insurance company, elsewhere)

Do you have a union?

I work in the south where pay is not great, and now all of the hospitals around me have eliminated pensions. A 401K just isn't the same. My state offers a pension for the state jobs,but the RN pay is equivalent to only $22/hr. 

Specializes in Mental health, substance abuse, geriatrics, PCU.

Where I work it's through the state so benefits are quite good, pay however is lower than the private sector and the raises are non existent. Private hospitals in the area offer 401k with small amount matched and a 403b with no match. Medical insurance is a joke at the private hospitals, it's also very expensive especially for families. The hospitals pay a little better than where I'm at but not much. At the nursing homes around here pay is acutally quite high, sadly insurance is low quality 401k with no match, puny PT0 amounts and usually only offers short term disability.

I am very thankful for my benefits, though I do wish pay wasn't so low. There are no unions in my state.

Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
1 hour ago, beeker said:

Is it just me or are RN jobs getting way worse over the last 5 years in terms of benefits?

No, it is not just you. The Medical Center from where I was employed for 17 years went downhill. In fact, there are class action lawsuits against it now because, one being, they "breached their fiduciary duties by including three overpriced and underperforming investment options in the Plan..."

Does your RN job have a pension?

Yes, and initially it was good. However, the organization which matched some of the employees' contributions were taken back. For example, my medical nurse wife Belinda  lost about $3000!

How are your benefits?

Fair, at best.

Is your health insurance expensive with big deductibles?

Yes.

Do you pay for Short Term Disability and Long Term disability?

Yes. 

What state are you in?

Illinois.

What kind of employer? (hospital, state, insurance company, elsewhere)

As previously mentioned, a medical center.

Do you have a union?

No.

I work in the south where pay is not great, and now all of the hospitals around me have eliminated pensions. A 401K just isn't the same. My state offers a pension for the state jobs,but the RN pay is equivalent to only $22/hr

At the time of my retirement, march 2020, I was making about $56/hour. New RN grads were starting out at about $30/hour. 

 

     I've been an RN for almost 30 years and have worked as permanent staff or a travel RN in many hospitals throughout the country.  I have also made this same observation and commented on it before here.  Regarding benefits/pensions, I too have noticed a gradual, albeit steady, erosion of hospital benefits nationwide.  In comparison to federal/state/county employment for nurses, most hospitals offer pretty meager benefits; weak 401K match, insurance that is been whittled away every year with the ever-rising deductible/co-pay; slashed PTO accrual rates; gone are the birthday/Easter/Christmas gift cards; heck, even the cafeteria discount is no more.  Fortunately I work at a unionized hospital in the Pacific Northwest and the pay scale for nurses is some of the highest in the country-I'm currently at $65/hr (WA state), but in other areas, the wages are stagnant and have not kept pace with inflation and the cost of living.  

     These are several reasons that I could not in good conscience recommend nursing as a career path to others.  Can you imagine caring for critically ill patients in a hospital (when an error or lapse of judgment could prove fatal), for $22/hr???

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