SGP Retirement vs MRK Retirement

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Anonymous said:
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.
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I understand and agree about the 40K less, no tuition, lousy car, the S1 insult.... but why is it a problem that the SP and Merck pension/401K's will take a year to align? Until then, you continue to have what was provided by SP. Granted, the "harmonized" version may end up being inferior, but for now what is the problem?
 












Anonymous said:
I understand and agree about the 40K less, no tuition, lousy car, the S1 insult.... but why is it a problem that the SP and Merck pension/401K's will take a year to align? Until then, you continue to have what was provided by SP. Granted, the "harmonized" version may end up being inferior, but for now what is the problem?
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SP did not have a pension when I joined. So the Merck pension would have been something to at least look forward to. Now, you and I both know they will find a way to screw the SP folks which will be great on top of losing 40K in income this year.
 






Anonymous said:
Lump sum or annuities which come in a few flavors. Several options at different percentage of survivor's benefits or none which get you a higher amount. 25+ years and the lump sum is about $500K. Not sure about 20 years. You can kind of extrapolate.
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OMG you are very lucky to get such a big payout. Here a few years and over 50. Unless I win some sweepstakes I will never be able to see that kind of money. Dont think anyone could, so few comapnies have pensions anyway and who can even get to 10 years anywhere anymore.
 






Anonymous said:
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.
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The truth is Merck bought SP for the pipeline and is figuring a way to unload the people. It will take all the lawyers a year at least to devise a way to harmonize all the SP people to the door legally and with the least financial impact.
 






Anonymous said:
OMG you are very lucky to get such a big payout. Here a few years and over 50. Unless I win some sweepstakes I will never be able to see that kind of money. Don't think anyone could, so few companies have pensions anyway and who can even get to 10 years anywhere anymore.
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Yes I see myself as very lucky, along with quite a few of us that have been around that long and witnessed all the blood bath. We used to have great R&D and respect but Mother screwed it all up with the endless re-inventing. We would screw up marketing great products. We would get outmaneuvered by competitors not tied down by lawyers. But I kept telling myself we have a pension plan and a decent 401K matching. I hope the management understands these two benefits retain a lot of talented employees.
 






Anonymous said:
Yes I see myself as very lucky, along with quite a few of us that have been around that long and witnessed all the blood bath. We used to have great R&D and respect but Mother screwed it all up with the endless re-inventing. We would screw up marketing great products. We would get outmaneuvered by competitors not tied down by lawyers. But I kept telling myself we have a pension plan and a decent 401K matching. I hope the management understands these two benefits retain a lot of talented employees.
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A lot has changed since those days of plenty, when generics were not much of an issue, and the pipeline was producing sellers. Now, it's a different ballgame. "Me-too's" won't generate the revenue needed to support benefits like pension plans and 401K's. It's been often said that the job of pharma rep will become extinct...at least as we have known it. Look for more layoffs, and the use of more contract reps, e-detailing, and telephone sales. Sad to see the pharma industry end up like this.
 






Anonymous said:
The truth is Merck bought SP for the pipeline and is figuring a way to unload the people. It will take all the lawyers a year at least to devise a way to harmonize all the SP people to the door legally and with the least financial impact.
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Makes sense...funny thing is that SP's pipeline isn't working out...all this "harmonization" for nothing! Unfortunately, those let go in the next round of layoffs will get far less than those let go in Jan '10.
 






Anonymous said:
A lot has changed since those days of plenty, when generics were not much of an issue, and the pipeline was producing sellers. Now, it's a different ballgame. "Me-too's" won't generate the revenue needed to support benefits like pension plans and 401K's. It's been often said that the job of pharma rep will become extinct...at least as we have known it. Look for more layoffs, and the use of more contract reps, e-detailing, and telephone sales. Sad to see the pharma industry end up like this.
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In some countries a pharma rep requires only a high school diploma. Especially in countries with national health. In a way we are evolving to semi-professional sales from professional sales. From well-trained full-time reps to contract reps of the day. The cost of a face-to-face selling is expensive but the return can be much higher, plus the relationship building. Merck has decided it is okay to go the e-detailing and contract routes which may have a lower yield but much cheaper. The HQ people cannot quantify relationship, respect, networking and opted for measurable metrics like expenses and sales. In that case and when people are expendable commodity, pension and 401K can go to save more $$. It's very sad indeed.
 


















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