Bridgeless Oldies...

Wonder how many recently cut oldies (bona fide greys) are bummed out. Hear some lost out on their bridge by inches....

Not talking about the "gap in the gums" bridge.....

Its that big time gap of retirement level benefits locked away!
No affordable medical. No pension money. Nothing available to them now...despite the age and the greys!

 

I'm not sure what Bridge is..... Can you explain it?

 

Say you are 60 and you can retire at 62, you will paid monthly and have benefits for 2 years from 60 to 62

 

Bridge means that you have 10 years of service and are 51 or older, but not yet 55, when separated, they make you, for all intents and purposes, appear to be 55 from a benefits perspective. You then collect pension (lump or annuity) when you turn 55. Search sync

 

This is correct for Legacy Merck.
Legacy SP do not get pension bridge, however after COBRA ends they do get health benefits bridge. Legacy SP can start collect pension once they are at least 55.
In regards to Rise the hand, there is no advantage in terms of benefits. Why anyone will consider to rise the hand?

 

There are people who were between 55-65 and were inches from their 10 year qualifier and were cut. They were denied everything. Incredible, cut and without access to affordable healthcare or their earned pension money. So surprising Merck would do this to these people. Seems HR did not care to look at the details of people who were cut.

 

wrong.

 

Wrong, 64 is automatic retiree!!

 

Wrong!

The Poster said 55-65.

What happens to those others .......55.56.57.58.59.60.61.62,63.????

Some of those people ARE losing out who are within this age range.

BIG issue!

 

Need ten years and 55, period. The current bridging will go away eventually. Remember legacy Schering gets no bridging.

 

Curious why they are not giving the really old reps some bridge. They probably need it. Some seem crusty. It is odd. Actually stranger than I originally thought.

 

It's for the same reason they do everything----they don't want to get sued.

 

Huh? Pulling out the proverbial rug under their feet is considered very sue worthy!

It's a big deal! Think even Joe B. would agree!

 

Question for poster#12. What is "old" to you? If you are 30 you might think 40 is old. If you are 40 than 50 is old. Be careful how you categorize people. Before you know it, you will be also old.

 

Not wrong. I retired from Merck at 55.

 

So true.

My "younger" colleagues think I am over the hill and yet they kept insulting customers and I am getting the calls. One guy pissed two offices off so bad that a regional director has to fly in to apologize to the doctor. Then he was mad at me in forwarding the complaints onto his CTL.

 

Seems to me if you are a certain "older" yet under age 64 you should be auto-bridged say if you have at least 5 or 8 years in or are a year or two from the 10 year mark. Some older reps on the cusp of eligibility had it taken away. At those ages it gone forever; they can never earn it anywhere else. A real bummer. Like they wasted all those years of work.

 

Prime reason why you save and save. One never knows.