53 and unemployed

[redneck joe]

Collateral from current round of layoffs at my company. Fun side note... My last day next month is the day before my 16th service date. Odd feeling. Wish I could have made it a couple more years so I could have retired. Then I would have had medical coverage for life. Oh wait... That's why I'm gone.



Oh well, made a table for the twins. Going to paint white with chalkboard paint on the top. Their first birthday is in a couple weeks.

 

[gm280]

Sorry to hear about your lay off issue. Sure seems odd they did that right before you get your health benefits. Some how I think they knew that, but what do I know. There really aren't too many coincidences if you think about it!

And here I was thinking you were going to look like the old guy from the Muppet show. Learn something new everyday...

 

[Old Ironmaker]

That sucks. I thought I had benefits for life after putting the best years of my life in the steel plant. Lost benefits 5 years ago and just recently got some of them back. I had never reached in my pocket for medical expenses in my life. What a shock. Meds for all my health woes were 500 bucks a month.

Sell those mini tables, you will make $$$.

 

[harringtondav]

Age discrimination is alive and well. Especially if you're a white male > 50 yrs old. I was a manager in a big green Ag. manufacturer. We were drilled on diversity, harassment and discrimination. "A qualified older employee shall not be denied a promotion opportunity."

My thirty-something boss conjured up a case to give me the boot to make way for a twenty-something West Point hot shot rising star. I landed on my feet due to connections who knew me and appreciated experience.

I'm not bitter. I retired in good shape. But I'm very sure that if I was female, or non caucasian, it never would have happened.

 

[GA_Boater]

Race and gender are trumped by age. The youngsters running companies today don't think we are "tech savvy". Some how they forget we are the ones who invented or laid the foundations of all the high tech stuff we supposedly can't learn today and we can function when it breaks, too. They can't!

 

[alldodge]

Sorry to hear about that, my Mom was forced out from Target years ago because she was getting close to retirement. They started giving her more to do then any other has had, then write her up because it wasn't done. After she left they split her job up to two younger ones.

Doesn't make it any easier, but your not alone

 

[82rude]

Worst thing about being retired for me is loss of dental coverage.Those pri#@* make more than brain surgeons I believe.Best of luck joe hope you land on your feet.I was fortunate to work for Algoma Steel for 34.5 years and only retired because my body was failing me and I was hating my job physically.6 years gone now and very happy though not rich atall.What did you do?

 

[DouglasW]

Worst thing about being retired for me is loss of dental coverage.Those pri#@* make more than brain surgeons

Check out the Medicare Advantage plans. They have dental coverage. If you are not married to your doctor or dentist, it might be the way to go.

 

[DouglasW]

Collateral from current round of layoffs at my company. Fun side note... My last day next month is the day before my 16th service date. Odd feeling. Wish I could have made it a couple more years so I could have retired. Then I would have had medical coverage for life. Oh wait... That's why I'm gone.

Does your spouse have health insurance now and can it cover you? If not, get some health insurance soon. Cobra is too expensive, check out the ACA plans. You don't want to have a heart attack with no coverage. I was laid off in 2002 and had my first heart attack in 2005. Good thing I had purchased health insurance or it would have been a $70K bill. No ObamaCare back then, so I paid a bundle for the insurance.

 

[BWR1953]

Dang Joe, sorry to hear that! I hope you find something good soon.

 

[redneck joe]

Yeah Douglas wife carries the insurance and we have a friend that just went thru this and he found a good plan so we'll be ready for *when* she goes thru the same. We work for the same, very large company that is laying off. I think the goal for them is 15% of the workforce thru 2020.


I was travelling with my director and VP and was in the room on her staff call where she explicitly stated she had not been asked to reduce. Four days later....


I had to acknowledge the age discrimination form. Funny, since we were bought a couple years ago I've talked to many director level and above about the lack of depth of knowledge the company has when trying to hire. They company has a philosophy that one should rotate position every 2-3 years and you can never get to know what you're doing, well, in that time. Especially when probably half that time is both learning the basics and then looking for a new position. In my 16 years I've had four, one being an installation tech for about a year so essentially three. I know my s..t better than most.


I've also have seen that if you can tell a story, accurate or not, truthful or not, you can move up. A n idiot dude that claimed all his new racial ideas for equipment distribution controls to the field techs was his brainchild that he developed just was promoted to Director. He just copied our process we developed 15 years ago.


Honestly I've seen this coming. I work from home which when my position was travelling 35 plus weeks per year didn't matter much. Last two years I havent. I've been supporting our third party companies who handle about 70% of our business and I've been purposefully making sure they know I'm on their side. The way this company lies and holds back truth is horrible. I've been *coached* on making sure I spent Supply Chain is a positive light which means shut up and obfuscate. I don't roll that way. One cannot make a good decision without the truth.

I've already had an impromptu phone interview and a few other connections so should be able to close out my last few years. Financially for retirement were ok, not great but are essentially debt free.




gm280, if you know ncis... Rule 39. And if you ever post a pic of yourself, please include the anvil about to squish you....

 

[82rude]

Check out the Medicare Advantage plans. They have dental coverage. If you are not married to your doctor or dentist, it might be the way to go.

Im Canadian so though appreciated your ideas don't apply to me.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Dang Joe, sorry to hear it.

 

[dingbat]

Hang in there.....
I was laid off at age 54. Had been with the company 35 years at the time.

Dont know what happened, but out of the blue we get a new managing director from outside the BU who decided to change direction. Overnight we went from a custom engineered solutions to widget makers.9

Dont need engineers to make widgets. The first out the door where the Enginnering department heads followed by Sales Enginners.

Widget making didn’t go so well. Eighteen months later the new Director was shown the door and I was asked to comeback to manage operations in China.

Taking a five year overseas assignment is typically the door to retirement. But by that time, I held a senior management position with a competitor and both kids where in high school.

Didn’t seem like it at the time, but getting laid off was the best thing that could have happen to me.

 

[harringtondav]

"Golden Rule" health plans through United Health care are a good alternative if you find yourself adrift. These aren't ACA compatible, but the new US tax bill eliminates the penalty this year.

We bought a Golden Rule policy to cover our son for seven months before he got on his employers coverage. Your monthly premiums are a function of the copays you can tolerate. If you have the cash to cover the first $5K, the premiums are quite low.

 

[redneck joe]

Yeah we currently have 6k per person deductible. I'm a health insurance person, not a free health care person. I'll leave it there so we don't get into politics but I think you understand.


Scott, the interview I had was with a supplier and would travel 50 to 75% of the time. 8 states in the SE including yours so you can still buy me a beer.





Well off the the spare room to keep repairing the ceiling where, while I was out of town being lied to, my amazing wife and a friend came to understand that I make popcorn removal look easy. And not messy. Bless 'em...

 

[GA_Boater]

claimed all his new racial ideas for equipment distribution controls to the field techs was his brainchild

He got promoted, Joe? LOL I know speelchek changed that from RADICAL. :smile:

Good luck, Joe. You need to be a working stiff until you decide it's time to hang it up.

 

[DouglasW]

Im Canadian so though appreciated your ideas don't apply to me.

Oops, quoted the wrong post.

 

[jbcurt00]

Good luck Joe.

Getting let go from my last full time gig was the best thing that happened to me since moving to WV.

Hope your current (soon to be former) work contacts/network produce a good lead.

Seem a handy remodeler and furniture maker.... Might take a page from WOGs retirement book :becky:

 

[Old Ironmaker]

After reading some posts here and speaking to my close relatives State side I am glad I live and worked in Ontario my entire life. Some ways employees, both hourly and salaried are treated in some States is simply illegal here in Ontario. I'll leave it at that.