Alcon Retiree Medical Benefit

Don't count on the once great medical coverage benefit if you retire from Alcon. The monthly premium cost for a retiree (and spouse) with over 20 years employment went from $340 a month to $680 a month when Novartis took over. For years, Alcon assured all of us that the Retiree medical benefit monthly premium would be similar in costs to active employees. What a joke! Novartis really screwed up a major reason to stay with the company long enough to retire from Alcon.

 

wow
they are almost matching the Alcon Rx product price increases...

 

If Novartis absorbs, breaks up, or spins off Alcon this benefit will be gone.

 

no one is going to last long enough to retire. all the alcon legacy people who could retire are already gone.

 

Novartis will put an end to this retiree benefit. They do not care what was promised to these employees that worked and made a long term commitment to receive a health care benefit. It was earned and funded. In the early to mid 1990's Alcon management asked employees if they could take life insurance polices out on a number of the employees. They named a health care trust as the beneficiary of these policies that was to fund future benefits for the retirees. What has happened to this trust? Did this trust disappear when Novartis took over?

 

yes, that's how i remember it. what did happen to that trust??? we were told it was 'untouchable' and un-raidable by any company that bought alcon. who in the company will answer that question?

 

Novartis' law firm should be in the know:

White & Case LLP
1155 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036-2787
United States

T: +1 212 819 8200

F: +1 212 354 8113

 

Do retirees need to hire counsel to settle this, and what about the people who had policies taken out on them? From what little I know, they were to be notified and approve of any change in the beneficiary. Were they ever contacted? Please let us know if you or someone you knew had a policy written on them and what happened.

 

I have one of those policies on me and no, I was never notified of any changes.

 

Same here. Good luck finding anything out with the crew we have running this sinking boat. The left hand has no clue what the right is doing.

 

Current Employees need to start asking questions about the Retiree Medical Benefit. Next time HR is on stage at a sales meeting for a Q & A, please please please someone ask about the viability of the Trust that Alcon set up to fund this benefit. We need answers!

 

Did someone ask at the sales meeting? We need to sort this out!

 

Let me tell you a story :
here's why they don't need to notify you …. In January 2014- when their clock ran out on stalling - Novartis finally released the 2012 year end ERISA statements. When Novartis sent out the EOY one page summary (ERISA required statements on OUR retirement Alcon accounts), including what WAS the Alcon Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association Trust ( our Alcon healthcare Retirement fund called VEBA ) - the balance showed - wait for it... wait for it…
0 dollars !!!!!!
In the statement it states "…on 12/31/2012 the remaining Plan assets of $130,170,559 was transferred to the Novartis Corporation Post Employment Welfare Benefit Plan." THAT"S RIGHT, you read correctly - they drained the Alcon VEBA and put it in their piggy bank. BUT THEY LEFT THE TRUST OPEN with a 0 balance ( so they could put more money in from any Life insurance payouts- not have to notify anyone- and then promptly siphon it off for themselves??! )
So, I hired a top attorney- and they were excited thinking that they were onto a nice class action. KNOW THIS - WE ARE LEGALLY ABLE TO REQUEST ALL OF THESE DOCUMENTS and supporting documents, and Novartis MUST provide them - which I did in coordination with these attorneys. After the attorneys did much work and parsing of the docs…wait for it…..
TURNS OUT that Alcon/Nestle inserted a paragraph when the sale of the company was being done, allowing Novartis to do whatever they want with that money !!!!
WE ALL NEED TO HIRE AN ATTORNEY !!! I will not roll over for Novartis and allow them to steal our money as well as our legacy that we EARNED!
Legacy Alcon employees are about to get completely screwed.
By all means bring it up at your meetings, but know that Novartis will have no compunction about cutting Alcon retirees off after Alcon is sold again.
Do you think the new CEO is just another guy ? Do your research on him !!!- he is here to sell the company !!!! Wake up retirees !! REQUEST THE DOCS YOURSELF FROM NOVARTIS - they stalled for me but were legally obligated to release them all.
ALSO NOTE - in a separate report that same year - that Novartis managed to "lose" OVER $52 MILLION form our Alcon Retirement Plan and Trust account in 2012 - nearly 10% of the total ( ~$540 million)!!!!!!! THIS WAS IN AN UP YEAR FOR THE STOCK MARKET ( UP 10%) !!!
WTF - wake up people - these are vampires at work on OUR hard earned money and benefits.!!!!! IF you don't take action you will wake up to a very bad news day soon.

 

BASTARDS

 

So now what?

 

Obamacare probably

 

I have talked with several people in and outside of Alcon. Before we go loaded for bear, let's find out what we can. There should be another forum to discuss this. Anonymity may not be the best way to speak efficiently. Any ideas?

 

How about the ARA website?