what happens next? How long till I get the paperwork?
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@3bsr, That's not true with the Chevron annuity. The age of the spouse makes very little difference in the amount. That's the whole beauty of it. The ones that they offer elsewhere did take that into consideration, but Chevron's does not. Research it for yourself, don't look for answers here, many people post falsehoods.
The annuity may scrooo you or your wife, but not in my case. The guaranteed lifetime annuity along with a COLA adjusted social security for both me and spouse actually provide a great monthly income stream. So much so that we are able to easily save 1/3 of our monthly stream. What’s more, it protects our large nest egg in our 401k and IRA accounts. Your mileage may vary.
The annuity will scroo your wife long after you are gone as inflation will destroy it in just a few years. Sorry for your loss.
The 100% joint and survivor annuity is paid to the retiree and spouse until the last one dies. The amount is fixed, not adjusted for inflation. In the case of an employee being 57 and wife in her late 30’s, the J&S annuity will be somewhat lower compared to a retiree of 57 and with a wife closer to his age. The driving factor behind the amount of a fixed annuity is age. In the case of the joint and survivor annuity with a younger spouse, she is expected to outlive the retiree by many more years, hence the annuity amount will be smaller, as they will be making payments based on the longest living spouse.
So the Chevron annuity is only for 13 years? I thought it was a available as a 100% joint and survivor annuity for the surviving spouse. I am 57 and my wife is in her late 30's. I suspect that she will be living much longer than me. I was hoping that the annuity would take care of her long after I am gone. Is that an incorrect assumption?
The Chevron annuity is equivalent to about 13 years of annuity payments. This is how all annuities work, if you figure you will live more that 13 years take the annuity. Now if you put that lump sum into an IRA and invest it in the SPY, that will compensate for inflation, unlike the pension you will earn dividends every Qtr. Plus the SPY should increase over over time , in 13 yrs it should at least double, of course that is not guaranteed. You could put it in the DOW , which may be safer because the DOW committee takes underperforming stocks out of the index every s of them and adds better performing ones and so it kind of guaranteed to go up, plus most corps ion DOW buy back their shares . It a difficult choices , the experts say take some of the income as pension and invest some too. Your ESIP for example
@3rwd, You were given erroneous information or a flat out lie. The lump sum is a reduced benefit, but predicated on the value of the Single Life Annuity, Chevron’s default pension type. You better carefully consider the offset that Chevron is estimating, as that figure will serve as your pension calculation. If you think that I’m kidding you, it’s at your loss to dismiss my statement. If you still want to go with the erroneous information you were given, I’d say you should hedge your decision to take the lump sum and submit your SS statement anyway. You will thank me later.
I had a lengthy conversation with the pension specialists and you are correct, the lump sum, since is is mathematically a reduced value compared to the annuity over time, is not penalized further by the SS calculation. That is good news for plenty of us. I have a ton of bills piling up and hopefully I will not still be in debt after I use the lump sum to pay them off. If I was in better shape financially I would likely choose the annuity.
Actually I spoke with the pension department today when I requested mine and they stated if you are taking a lump sum the SS offset does nothing for you so no need to turn it in.
What's the advice for short term (vested) employees?
HR will email back forms, you can sign and return (scan) in same day. If lump sum, you have to have wife if married sign and notary. I've requested and changed mine 4 times since summer, as rates kept falling. Dec 2020 payout came out best. Sums slightly falling as rates tick just a bit, but overall, still really GREAT totals due to rates below 1%
If you are retiring and don’t care to continue any life insurance after you’re gone, it’s up to you to cancel your MetLife policy. The company will not do this for you. After your last check, MetLife will start billing you each month. So, think about it and cancel the policy now or at any time.
You get the estimates back by snail mail. It could be a couple weeks. Once you fill in all the paperwork and mail it back in, Chevron 'finalizes' the numbers, mails it back to you, then pays out on the last day of that month (they only pay out on the last day of the month). Count on it being a couple months between when you start the process and when they start paying you.
Congratulations on requesting your pension paperwork. But before you sign it and return it with your choice of annuity or lump sum, take time to study the Age 65 Social Security Offset amount that Chevron is estimating. You read that correctly, “estimating”. If your tenure with Chevron is less than 35 years, it is very likely the company is estimating the Offset amount to the high side. In other words, you are not getting the largest pension amount you’re entitled to get. There are one or two lengthy topics on the SS Offset and how submitting your Social Security Statement to the HR Benefits Center can net you a sizable higher amount, no matter what type of pension you elect. Hint: The shorter term employee you are, the higher the percentage you will gain by submitting your SS Statement before or along with your pension papers.
Don’t do it now. Interest rates are still falling.
You cannot get it until after your final day on payroll.