Hand Raiser: What are my odds?

50 age ....ten years service...pension bridge.
51 2014 benefits bridge
52 2015 benefits bridge

 

Bridging til 2019, severance changes next year.

 

The thing about Café Pharma is you never know what reality really is. I hear rumors about a change in the severance package but where does that come from? Right now it is 2 weeks for every year of service. What will the change be if there is one? Will it be announced by the company or will I read about it in a newspaper article after the fact...? Nothing like transparency with this company. Reps seem to be the last to find out.

 

It's really NOT 2 weeks for every year of service. There's a chart, and it depends on your salary band, and years of service. If you are a LER (now) or a CTL, you get more than 2 weeks.

 

No one cares get lost

 

Agree with all you said....I'm in the same boat. With so many unemployed pharma reps, everyone can be very choosy, demanding very specific experience. Not enough that you have proven yourself over and over again, if you don't have the exact requirements they are looking for. CSO jobs are just as hard to get as direct hire. And everyone (direct hire and CSO) are favoring younger reps with just a few years experience (they cost less).

I've been out of work for nearly two years. Don't expect to get hired back into pharma. Not sure what the answer is, as I have no idea what "plan B" will be. Very sad to see what happened to a once very thriving industry, and how older rep with successful backgrounds are being discarded.

 

This is true.

You can have exact therapeutic experience but if it not in the exact product you are out!

You can have awards up the kazoo and if you're a little over the age they want you are out.

If you're out of work for a week or a year you will be eliminated from a good percentage
of interviews up front (hey, they see it as somebody didn't want you so why should they!?).

If you made a high base/bonus they will not take the risk on you for a much lower paying job since they think you'll walk away!

CSO jobs are much harder to get these days. Half the pay, crap bonus and no car... and the line is very long. Plenty of candidates who will take whatever they can grab....

Unless you are a special hire to fill a special need......... it is very tough!!

This is real life!

Reinvent yourself if you have pension $$ and bennies available to you!!
All others, take whatever!

What a "growing" economy we have...........not!

 

Most people who took the package regretted it. Be careful. Time move quick and you find out you are in a hole. All pharma is the same. The grass is not always greener. Sometime it's moving from one shit company to another for less pay.

 

older rep here…in my 50s…quit pharma after being harassed out by DM…now working for 1/3rd of the money with no car, or health insurance…pharma turned out to be a dismal career choice…thought I had it going on with my 6 figure pharma job…not so much I found out when I tried getting work out of the industry with zero marketable skills that employers actually cared about, save for choosing rye bread on the deli tray, and telling the Starbucks gal how many pumps of chocolate to throw in my mocha grande.

 

That is what that phys end degree was worth.

 

That gym teacher has more science and healthcare training than any of your typical history or IT majors!

Go gymmie!

 

Taking a package? Be careful. If you are in a high income bracket the federal tax is 39.6 and than there is state tax and in some cases city tax. All of a sudden the large sum is half of what you expected.

 

Roll it over and let it grow until retirement. Minimal losses! Bird in hand worth two in bush

 

If you are retirement age, and will qualify for pension or bridge than why you will refuse payout. I lost my job due to restructure. I paid the taxes on severance , and than invested the rest. Leaving Merck and retiring earlier was a blessing for me. Why not take the money. If you plan to leave on your own very soon, than take advantage of extra cash.
Situation will be different for someone who will need to look for another job. In that case I will not volunteer to leave, just let the the Merck do the job of deciding if my position is needed or not. Finding good paying job those days is not easy, even if you have good education, skills and all credentials you can think of.

 

For the rep who gets a retirement bridge a lot is possible...

You will have some money coming in.
You will have affordable healthcare

You will be able to look around. Pursue what you want.......no big pressures to jump at anything like the non-bridge folks.

 

What is most shocking to me is the failure of people to plan. Layoffs have been commonplace for years now. This is the time you should have been saving, getting more education, starting a business, planning your plan B, etc. This gig is over, so plan! You all are smart people! Open your eyes and good luck!

 

Don't think that these people are smart. They are the worst generation the country has ever produced. Not an ounce of responsibility or honesty just plain lazy! They have earned the position s they are about to assume.

 

Wow. And I say Wow again. Has been good therapy for me reading this thread. I was able to get the best of a bad situation when separated three years ago in 2011. We were told during our "Separation Therapy" conference call this was the last of the best payoffs mother Merck would be offering for now since the future was going to be chipped away for such unfortunates later. As if that made me feel better at the time. I was awarded to my surprise the BRIDGE just as I turned 49. I did not really know what that meant at the time but was explained this meant I was "grandfathered" as a permanent Merck Legacy spot on retiree. I found this out when my separation package arrived with a wonderful cover sheet Congratulating me on my recent retirement choice. ( Although not my choice you creeps ). I was able to keep 100% of my pension that I can roll over at age 55. I would have lost 2/3rds of it if not bridged. I also have access to subsidized Merck Health benefits until the day I or the company is not there. Three years later and after reading the changes to what they are doing now, I do feel lucky. Merck said they would move the cheese on future bridging rules and who qualifies and this thread proves they were behind what we were told at the time. I saw the writing on the wall with the downsizing they were doing prior== saved well and am now enjoying some early retirement time. I have dabbled at working in this industry a couple of times since I was kicked out of the Merck Tree House. All experiences were horrible and I was fortunate to be able to leave on my own accord and decided to say screw this industry and not look back. Leaving Merck was never on my agenda but I was in the right place at the right time to get the best severance with bridging at the time. The subsidized insurance and keeping my full pension was a blessing. I used to think I wanted back into the Merck world but the industry and Merck has evolved way beyond. I am so sorry for those recently down sized that missed bridging retirement benefits because it has made my situation much easier to endure such a hard life experience. Best of luck to all you going through this turmoil.

 

I think you could be one who has been in one place for 20 or more years. Probably comfy and it safe with the career part of life....actually a good choice for many in the end. Those who spread their wings and have a different spirit have tried different jobs, different places of employment. Most of these types probably paid their own way all the way throughout...no free degrees, low cost healthcare and sweet perks....a major reason why are in a different situation in their older years. There is no good, no bad, just a different paths. For these types that itty bitty pension and the bridge with a chance at an acceptable price for bennies is a very big deal!