Removing the Matching Gift program for retirees? Not a surprise. That's why when I was involuntarily bridged to retirement, I immediately moved my 401k out of Merck. Since I wasn't old enough for Medicare, my first "offer" of Merck healthcare for retirees came in the mail as a premium bill of $1,2000 per month and without dental care because they had just dropped that coverage (I had immediately gotten a higher paying consultant job that provided healthcare, so it didn't matter - except to confirm my suspicions that Momma MRK would screw me anyway she could in the future). Then when I turned 55, I got my pension funds out of Momma so she couldn't screw me on that. Now I am free and clear of MRK and feeling great, so seeing Momma brought to her knees this week by a malware virus after outsourcing all of her IT work just makes me laugh. I'd hit the foundation for every dime of charitable donations that I could in the past, and now they have stopped that. So when I do officially retire in the future, I don't expect much from the Merck Retiree Benefits program. They will probably discontinue the website for it anyway because it costs too much to run. That's if it hasn't been hacked and taken down by viruses, due to greedy Momma's IT cutbacks.
I've been happily retired for 2 years after over 25 years of service. Since I retired, we no longer get Merck drugs for free, we lose our insurance when we are eligible for Medicare, and now today the matching gifts program was discontinued for retirees. Our pension is "protected", and by law I don't believe it can be changed (I have decided to take a Lump Sum anyway, though).
Is there anything left to take away from retirees?
I've been happily retired for 2 years after over 25 years of service. Since I retired, we no longer get Merck drugs for free, we lose our insurance when we are eligible for Medicare, and now today the matching gifts program was discontinued for retirees. Our pension is "protected", and by law I don't believe it can be changed (I have decided to take a Lump Sum anyway, though).
Is there anything left to take away from retirees?
What was the matching gift program? Was it a relatively new benefit? I've been retired for about 10 years and never heard of it.
Quit the bellyaching you leeches. You do not any longer if you ever did. We don't owe you a thing not a thing. Get your elderly asses off our site!Smart move to grab your pension funds from Mother at earliest opportunity...(55) I did the same thing...Wasn't going to let Merck screw me again, especially without the courtesy of a reach-a-around...LOL...
Quit the bellyaching you leeches. You do not any longer if you ever did. We don't owe you a thing not a thing. Get your elderly asses off our site!
The pension will be crushed by 2019. If you have a nice pension in the pension modeling site it might disappear if you don't retire in a couple of years. And the newer employees will get a poor watered down new cash balance pension. That is the next item to expire in the pipeline/
It was the same corporate gift matching program that was in place when you were an employee. "Plan For Giving", or 'P4G", or "Merck Gives Back", or cybergrants.com, whatever you want to call it. If you were forcibly retired or bridged to retirement, you got to keep access to the program (via cybergrants.com). If you were laid off, you lost it. Now all ex-Merck employees have lost it.
It was the same corporate gift matching program that was in place when you were an employee. "Plan For Giving", or 'P4G", or "Merck Gives Back", or cybergrants.com, whatever you want to call it. If you were forcibly retired or bridged to retirement, you got to keep access to the program (via cybergrants.com). If you were laid off, you lost it. Now all ex-Merck employees have lost it.
It is very disappointing to Merck retirees who worked many years for this company - some life-long employees -to have every promise made by Merck to these dedicated people rescinded or eliminated. We were screwed, royally!!! So beware, future Merck employees: Think twice before you join this company, unless you like to be lied to and screwed!
