I am Baton Rouge based and I am retirement eligible this December as I will turn 55 and 15 years of service. I am expecting NSI for sure this year, so I had an interview last week with a new employer and they want me to start work ASAP. is there a way to take a leave absence three month before my retirement day and start at the new company? is there any other way not to lose my pension or the new opportunity?
21 replies (most recent on top)
Are we still offering the lumpsum pension payout in 2022/2023 even though we are not 55 years old with 15 years of service?
You do not have to be 55 with 15 years of service anymore to get the "One time lump sum payout". Search for it on the HR site. They have been doing this for the past couple of years.
Yes: take leave of absence, start the new job, and keep your mouth closed about it. End of story.
It isn’t illegal, but for some reason there’s people out there who have an issue with it. If you know where/how to look, there’s resources to guide you, but you won’t find them here.
NRE absolutely can be NSI’d. Did not select PIP, could have cared less even with a guarantee to pass. Gave very short notice to retire, had already crunched numbers and a plan in place. While you can still get lump sum pension, you will not have retiree status (insurance, etc) if you don’t make 55/15. Stretch it out.
All this dribbling around. Shoot the ball.
Is taking a new job during a leave of absence the same as doing it while on vacation/PTO?
In the former, one is not getting a paycheck...does anyone have more insight?
Be careful and not get caught. I know someone that took two weeks vacation and went to work at another company. While there he ran into someone that worked at his original comany and they fired him, and the new company fired him when they found out what he did.
@1npp
I ran the lumpsum projection at 53 vs 55, and there was almost a 30% delta with everything else being the same (eg. Interest rates).
Perhaps OP didn't mention this, thinking this "discount" would be well known?
That latest post is very helpful, and directs the OP to the relevant information.
Good assist!
I always thought being literate and some analytical skill was a pre-req for employment with the company. OP proves us wrong!
You do not have to be 55 with 15 years of service anymore to get the "One time lump sum payout". Search for it on the HR site. They have been doing this for the past couple of years. Check with a financial advisor who has clients from Baton Rouge. They are already aware of it and can guide you how it works. Take the new offer now only if you really think that is going to be the job you are passionate about. Otherwise stick it out, they do not offer the PIL to NREs, they are exempt. You are pretty much guaranteed a job there at least through the end of the next cycle. After you are RE, they still shudder away from terminating Age protected employees. They can still PIP you, but very unlikely that you won't pass. There would be a huge class action lawsuit ready to happen based upon age discrimination that they wouldn't want to litigate. They usually keep the dead wood, low contributors around until they decide to leave.
Get your NSI news soon and take PIL.
Your retirement date will be DEC1.
Take new job but do not let EM find out or that ends PIL.
Your DEC birthday makes this a bit tricky.
Advice is simple. Get the pension then tell them good bye and that you will not miss them :-)
@gnr+1hw7Q1u3 You are mistaken. A personal leave of absence counts up to 12 months as service towards vesting and the pension plan. See the US HR site.
I think Popeye's can wait a couple of weeks - even months.
Hang on, shadoopie.
Good luck.
After 15 years you don’t understand how any of this works?
How in gods name did you make it to retirement eligibility? And what group are you in? I’d love to transfer in.
You are nre they can pip you but you can't fail. You are protected by your age.
If I'm not mistaken, a leave of absence is not credited towards your service time. It is essentially leaving the company -- not really much different than resigning. So, basically, no, there is no way to sc--w over your current employer. If the second company is not willing to wait, you're not as good as you think you are anyway.
Based on your post you are definitely NSI
I'm sure they'd wait under those circumstances?
If your new employer is not willing to wait six months then tell them that you cannot give up 15 years of service for your lump sum pension.
You can always be hired by another company next year.
You would be a fool to risk it. Pension impact will be years of pay if you can’t wait it out.