Verizon to End Traditional Pensions For Managers

First to my friends and family who may be affected by this, I am truly sorry. It's hard enough to make a living and support a family as it is in today's changing global economy without this constant feeling that one will have to work until they drop dead because all social safety nets are going the way of the dodo. Good luck and God bless to all whom were counting on their pensions from Verizon.

My thoughts on this are different from what they'd normally be. Usually I side with the corporations (perish the thought) and their prime directive of making the most profit from the least expenditure. This is why I'm always touting global trade and a Basic Income Guarantee. One has to be realisting about the world we live in today. As it is the boardroom culture dictates a sort of cutthroat mentality where the gospel of short-term gain and long-term pain drives the decisions of the CEO and the rest of the many boards across the land. Before we even know how we're being screwed, these folks have already thought of and plotted out new strategies for getting us to seperate from our money and are moving on to bigger and better things. My mentality when it comes to this sort of thing is that if you can't beat'em, at least learn to adapt.

But the cutting of traditional pensions particularly irks me. It really is a sign that the American business environment, culture and mentality have irrevocably changed for the worse. The business leadership of our country cannot have made themselves any clearer, nobody and nothing is sacred. You can be replaced on the job for pennies on the dime by a worker in the burgeoning Thirld World and then you as the consumer can be replaced with 10 to 100 consumer in that same Third World market. Having said that, what could possibly hold American business to any sort of loyalty toward their fellow man? The answer in reality is nothing for now. So long as a business can make more money elsewhere the age of worker rights and privilege is quickly coming to an end.

I'm not necessarily angry about this, just very sad. Here's the story:

Verizon Communications Inc., the second-largest U.S. phone company, said yesterday that it will phase out defined-benefit pension plans for about 50,000 management employees to save money.

New York-based Verizon, the dominant local phone company in the Washington area, said it would take a $97 million fourth-quarter pretax charge as a result but expected to save about $3 billion over the next decade because of the changes.

Verizon is the latest in a long line of U.S. companies that have phased out defined-benefit plans, which can be expensive to maintain but typically guarantee workers a set monthly payment in their retirement based on length of service and final years of salary. Many companies instead make contributions to 401(k)-style savings plans, which have no guaranteed payout amount; rather, the size of an employee's retirement nest egg is based on the success of the worker's investment decisions.

In addition to saving money, Verizon officials said they were trying to harmonize benefits among employees, including those at Verizon Wireless and at Ashburn-based MCI Inc., which the company is acquiring.

Neither MCI nor Verizon Wireless managers have defined-benefit pension plans.

"This restructuring reflects the realities of our changing world. Companies today, including many we compete with, are not adopting defined benefit pension plans or subsidized retiree medical benefits," Ivan G. Seidenberg, Verizon's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. Continued