My mom and I have talked about this a lot. My dad went into management (out of the union) because of the promises made to him by the company. This was back in the early 70's, when people still believed that if they stuck around and did their job that the company would abide by it's promises. And at the time the company was very large, very stable (and dependent upon Bethlehem Steel, incidentally).
Well, the promises have largely gone by the wayside and my parents have done a good job of saving for themselves and being responsible so they'll be ok. But it strikes me, when I think about how my husband is offered no retirement benefits aside from some matching funds in the 401k, that maybe we're better off knowing way in advance that we're on our own.
It's like people counting on a bonus or a contribution to your 401k, don't ever count it as part of your wage, consider it a gift, then if you don't get it you're not stuck.
You are right on here. My company has a generous policy of pension benefits for life and the life of my spouse and 401 K benefits which they put under the employee's control some years ago. The company explained the retirement program and the fact that it depended on the company remaining viable in writing. We were surprised. We had all thought that when you retire the company generates an annuity for each retiree from the overfunded pension plan. Wrong. And to keep profits growing, the company has reduced their contribution to the pension fund while fudging the expected return on investment from the stock market which may be in a bear market for the next 20 years.
All this news means we are at risk like the steel workers of this article. I will take steps to protect my assets as I cannot rely on the company. the company, trades as LM on the NYSE.