A huge financial company just offered employees the 'opportunity' to 'voluntarily retire'

Business Insider ^ | 07/16/2015 | Kathleen Elkins

[SeekAndFind]

TIAA-CREF, a Fortune 100 financial-services organization that employs 12,500 workers in more than 100 local offices, announced a "special, one-time Voluntary Retirement Program" on Tuesday in a memo to its employees.

The company is offering this "opportunity" to people age 50 and older who have at least 10 years' tenure at the company, or at least five years' tenure for those 55 and up. Eligible employees who choose to participate will receive unspecified financial incentives.

We received a copy of the memo from an anonymous tip. TIAA-CREF confirmed the existence of the program and declined to comment further, emphasizing that it was a voluntary opportunity and that there was no larger plan to reduce staff.

Here is the memo, transcribed in full (bolding theirs):

[NEMDF]

TIAA-CREF is regulated like any insurer, and is required to hold sufficient reserves to cover their liabilities.

I think it may be a bit of an overreaction if people worry about their claims-paying ability.

That said, I am somewhat curious as to specifics of the incentives, which might give a better indication as to whether this is some type of desperation move.

[taildragger]

I’d love to know if these “older” workers are still covered under a “defined benefit plan” retirement system, and if the newer workers are not in it because it was shut to them and they are trying to pair down their pension liability by jettisoning them especially if their is a “Rollover” prevision and a bonus to get out of the system to have one less liability on the books. (Similar to what Ford is doing now, research it).....

[Chuzzlewit]

Yes. I have seen these “reply to all” emails go on for hours. The only cure is to have the original email deleted. I do think there is a certain amount of malicious intent in regards to this.

I honestly can’t believe that fellow employees are not aware of the interruption and negative influence of the email. After 30 or so requests for people to stop “replying to all” , it still continues. The more that IT or whomever requests for people to stop, it continues, with more intensity and abandon. It never stops until IT steps in and deletes the chain.

But hey... whatever man.. it’s funny hahhh...

I find it to be an offensive , and worthy of a write-up and disciplinary action.

[oldtech]

This could be a good deal for some,rotten for others,especially as financial incentives were not detailed. I worked in a particular part of industry as a skilled technician for approx. 50 yrs.,worked well past retirement age & was offered.....ZIP. Just to show some that things could be worse,and indeed are not likely to get better.

[Reeses]

Excluding wisdom, peak cognitive ability occurs about age 26. Albert Einstein's “miracle year” was at 26 when he published four groundbreaking papers, on the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and the equivalence of mass and energy. Most physicists are washed up by age 30 and then coast.

Older workers expect higher pay yet are not as fast thinking as they used to be. If pay decreased slightly with age, companies wouldn't be so motivated to lay them off.

[Oatka]

While they will save on payroll and health costs by shedding older workers, their replacements will be the millenials who are lacking in the work ethic their older workers have.

And watch Corporate memory walk out the door. Saw this numerous time when I was in the workforce. Occasionally Karma would bite and the laid off old timer came back as a contractor at three or four times his old salary and for a long period of time.

Personally, I wouldn't have come back and let 'em squirm if I had critical info.

[HamiltonJay]

I wouldn’t write so much into this, the company obviously has found itself in some financial problems, so its trying to avoid flat out layoffs by offering those who are close to retirement age incentives to leave early... You aren’t going to convince a 30 year old to take early retirement, but someone in their 50s or 60s may be willing to take a lump sum over a few more years of work.

This is different the situation you are describing.

[HamiltonJay]

Excluding wisdom.... Excluding Wisdom.. I have made and saved companies uncounted millions of dollars over the course of my career, most of it after I was 26 years old.

I freely admit I don’t think as quick on my feet as I used to, but I also don’t make as many stupid mistakes that cost boatloads of money because of it as well.

I have stopped many 20somethings from doing really stupid things because with the data and experience they had they thought they were making a sound decision, they didn’t have the life experience to know they didn’t have all the relevant data.

[Covenantor]

Corporate and project memory in my case. Got rif’ed and two months later got a call back. Told them no way as salaried employee as they were under the hammer on time and huge performance penalties. I settled for breaking into three digit hourly for three months. The VP turned purple but the accountant did some rapid mental math and said done. Brought it in ahead of time with a nice performance bonus.

Some times it’s worth deferring FU now because the later kiss off is that much sweeter, and knowing that at least one sob ground his teeth every day while green flowed to me.

[Oatka]

Some times it’s worth deferring FU now because the later kiss off is that much sweeter, and knowing that at least one sob ground his teeth every day while green flowed to me.

Gotta love it! What gets me is that these yo-yos never learn.