SGP Retirement vs MRK Retirement

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Anonymous said:
You think those retired with a decent package are greedy? No. Most are happy with the money. Some felt the company simply dumped them after years of hard work and loyalty. Merck is screwing current employees by changing the retirement benefits, which cause people like you to resent those who have retired. In the old days we all looked forward to retire with a decent pension. As a rookie then, everyone in the district with tenure retired with over $1M if not more. That was the norms.
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Everyone in my family worked for major companies ...one has a $300 pension after 20 years and another has less than 600 a month in retirement. Most have NO pension, only a 401K or just a IRA rollover. Count your blessings...these people have worked their butts off, are well educated and paid those bills themselves (not educational freeloaders like here), paid their dues in life and have basically nothing but social security. Your 500K or 1M? Who cares both are massive. Greedy thinking is often a norm....wanting more and more and more. Something is off with this culture when you can not be satisfied by what is actually more than plenty.
 






Anonymous said:
As a 25+ tenured rep I began to resent all the Barbie's and Ken's Merck hired. They invite themselves to dinners I had with key physicians who would not go out with them. Those docs see them as just another rep. After awhile I don't even let them know of my dinner plan or request that they keep their mouths shut if they really want to come along. We know the secret doors to the clinics where our top docs are while they have to wait outside for their turns. The next thing you know they start following you into the clinics, claiming to be your best buddies. Again, you then sit at meetings and hear their success stories. I am a darn good rep. But I can't play this kind of game.
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Then there were those docs who loved all that cleavage that was paraded in front of them. Either way you look at it, those Barbie's were needed like a hole in the head. The only thing that was good with the massive layoffs is that many of these "low lifes" are now gone. They played a big role in bringing this industry down.
 






Anonymous said:
I was the one that posted the numbers. I retired last year and copied them off my own printout with 25+ years of service. My apology if it has since been changed and the lump sum option is gone. Perhaps Merck does not like writing all those $500K checks. At least a dozen of my former colleagues went for that option in one region. Multiple that by how many times for the rest of the nation and Merck probably paid out quite a bit. Ultimately a person should sit down with an adviser and decide which is the best option for him or her.
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Ask yourself if you can live on 500K after taxes! With the interest rates you can't make your bonus with $500K! What Merck did by changing how the lump sum was calculated first with European interest rates GATT & then with a formula that has nothing to do with interest rates (onlymeant to eliminate the lump sum option) is to effectively get rid of value of lump sum! The annuity that Merck retirement purchases to pay out your retirement is based on interest rates that the insurance companies fix! They make money off of Merck retirement..and you'd think Merck would want to split the difference with the reps and avoid that cost but we're in bed with those thieves just like everyone else! Take the longest payout!
 






Anonymous said:
Everyone in my family worked for major companies ...one has a $300 pension after 20 years and another has less than 600 a month in retirement. Most have NO pension, only a 401K or just a IRA rollover. Count your blessings...these people have worked their butts off, are well educated and paid those bills themselves (not educational freeloaders like here), paid their dues in life and have basically nothing but social security. Your 500K or 1M? Who cares both are massive. Greedy thinking is often a norm....wanting more and more and more. Something is off with this culture when you can not be satisfied by what is actually more than plenty.
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It is truly a blessing with the pension. Those who left are not complaining. They simply felt Merck displaced them mostly for age or they were at the top of their pay scale. None that I talked to wanted more. They all saved diligently in their 401K over the years. They were the reps that wear nothing fancy at meetings. They were the reps that did not talk loudly of their new toys, trips, facials, spa treatments at meetings. You seem to dwell on these retirees are not satisfied too much. May be there are some out there. But not those that I associate with.
 






Anonymous said:
Then there were those docs who loved all that cleavage that was paraded in front of them. Either way you look at it, those Barbie's were needed like a hole in the head. The only thing that was good with the massive layoffs is that many of these "low lifes" are now gone. They played a big role in bringing this industry down.
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I know it was the beginning of the end when my Barbie colleagues claim exclusivity with several top-tiered dirty old men/docs for out of office programs. When you ask these docs they would say they are spending enough time with Merck reps already. After a few years of zero business growth, these Barbies would not give up their weekly free dinner flirting party with these dudes and none of us could get any business done. Yes, these Barbies are blond and have great legs.
 






Anonymous said:
It is truly a blessing with the pension. Those who left are not complaining. They simply felt Merck displaced them mostly for age or they were at the top of their pay scale. None that I talked to wanted more. They all saved diligently in their 401K over the years. They were the reps that wear nothing fancy at meetings. They were the reps that did not talk loudly of their new toys, trips, facials, spa treatments at meetings. You seem to dwell on these retirees are not satisfied too much. May be there are some out there. But not those that I associate with.
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I would bet my last dollar that senior management pensions at Merck have not changed and probably are just as outrageous as they always were. This is as you know the norm now as pay for senior management used to be tied to stock performance and frankly corporations have forgotten about that. Steve Jobs has worked for $1 dollar a year since 1997 and all his gain has come from stock performance. Does he get too much stock, probably, but if anyone deserves the money he does. Right now management in companies like Merck mantra is "Do as I say, not as I do or what we are given". Very surprised more people are not upset by the disconnect between management pay programs and the workers in the USA.
 






As long as I have been with Merck. The joke/motto is when you screw up, you get promoted, especially at West Point. Merck is still committee driven and no one is going to admit he/she voted for a bad idea.
 






Anonymous said:
I would bet my last dollar that senior management pensions at Merck have not changed and probably are just as outrageous as they always were. This is as you know the norm now as pay for senior management used to be tied to stock performance and frankly corporations have forgotten about that. Steve Jobs has worked for $1 dollar a year since 1997 and all his gain has come from stock performance. Does he get too much stock, probably, but if anyone deserves the money he does. Right now management in companies like Merck mantra is "Do as I say, not as I do or what we are given". Very surprised more people are not upset by the disconnect between management pay programs and the workers in the USA.
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More people should be upset. Is there a lack of awareness? A lawsuit should be filed against senior management for what could be viewed as the equivalent of embezzling the company. Something is seriously wrong when pension funds are dwindling but senior management payouts are increasing. Senior management should NOT be getting away with this!!!
 






Anonymous said:
Everyone in my family worked for major companies ...one has a $300 pension after 20 years and another has less than 600 a month in retirement. Most have NO pension, only a 401K or just a IRA rollover. Count your blessings...these people have worked their butts off, are well educated and paid those bills themselves (not educational freeloaders like here), paid their dues in life and have basically nothing but social security. Your 500K or 1M? Who cares both are massive. Greedy thinking is often a norm....wanting more and more and more. Something is off with this culture when you can not be satisfied by what is actually more than plenty.
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What is sufficient for your family members may not be sufficient for someone else. Who are you to decide and judge what someone else wants/expects? Everything is relative...there are people who do not view 500K or 1M as "massive". With rising costs, longer life expectancies, and the government always taking more and more of your money, even 1M is really not that much.
 






Anonymous said:
What is sufficient for your family members may not be sufficient for someone else. Who are you to decide and judge what someone else wants/expects? Everything is relative...there are people who do not view 500K or 1M as "massive". With rising costs, longer life expectancies, and the government always taking more and more of your money, even 1M is really not that much.
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What is sad are those who work hard and really do not have what is even close to sufficient. Want to trade places with them?
 






Anonymous said:
I am hoping that someone with knowledge can address this question --as a legacy SGP I am aware that there is different annuities available that pay between 20-40,000 per year based on years of service to retirees but I cannot find out any news of the MRK plan since we cannot access that site at present time---is the MRK plan a lump sum, annuity, or some other deal---if a lump sum, what has been a general figure to retirees after 20 years etc. Thanks to any MRK rep or retiree that can help as I am sure that many others have similar questions
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My research says saving of 200K buys an annuity worth about 1.0K month. Look it up or call an investment house.
 






Anonymous said:
What is sad are those who work hard and really do not have what is even close to sufficient. Want to trade places with them?
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Your point illustrates one that thing that we as humans all have in common: we all want to "trade up". No one wants to "trade down". Nothing wrong with that...it's only natural. I'd like to trade places with Donald Trump, but he has his life, I have mine...and that's just how it is. No one said life would be fair. Merck's pension fund is just one example of that...
 
























Anonymous said:
Your point illustrates one that thing that we as humans all have in common: we all want to "trade up". No one wants to "trade down". Nothing wrong with that...it's only natural. I'd like to trade places with Donald Trump, but he has his life, I have mine...and that's just how it is. No one said life would be fair. Merck's pension fund is just one example of that...
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I would thank my lucky stars if I had 10,15 or 20 years in and could walk at 50. At 50 these folks could start again in a new career without financial restriction. Only a fool would reject the opportunity to fulfill themselves and live out their dream. Many people will never have that chance no matter how long and hard they work...for them life is not fair. For the others life has been more than fair and any complaints fall on deaf ears.
 






Anonymous said:
I know it was the beginning of the end when my Barbie colleagues claim exclusivity with several top-tiered dirty old men/docs for out of office programs. When you ask these docs they would say they are spending enough time with Merck reps already. After a few years of zero business growth, these Barbies would not give up their weekly free dinner flirting party with these dudes and none of us could get any business done. Yes, these Barbies are blond and have great legs.
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LOL.... Barbies with the dirty old men....is it a program or sugar daddy scouting?
 












Love, love this "Harmonization" B.S. Never before have I heard such crap that it will take another YEAR to get the SP and Merck pension/401K's aligned. SP employees are totally fcked. Just another way to get us to say good-bye without having to pay a dime. What a crock. So, my pay is 40K lighter this year, I did not get put into the Merck pension, they refuse to pay any tuition, I drive a shit car and can look forward to being an S1 after 15 years of service. What a joke. God, I am doing as little as possible for this company.
 






Expect to hear more before end of year, possibly as early as end 3Q11, as pension change notices to employees, and the timing of same, are both required and regulated by the PBGC, a US govt. agency.
 






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