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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Rockatansky on December 25, 2015, 01:25:30 PM

Title: Benefits keep changing
Post by: Rockatansky on December 25, 2015, 01:25:30 PM
I work for a pretty big company in the transportation industry and they seem to be taking away some of the benefits that people like us enjoy.

Last year, they changed the ESPP from lowest of beginning and end of offering to just the end of offering. I brought this up with the upper managers and they just said that it's easier for them to do it this way and that it should be viewed as a long term investment anyways. Part of this was due to their stock price going from $60 to almost $100 within a year, it has since crashed back under $60 so I got hosed on the last two period offerings.

Now, I just got a letter in the mail saying that they are switching to once a year 401k contributions. Now I'm not worried about getting let go during the year or anything, but I don't like the fact that I miss out on dollar cost averaging and extra dividends I normally get during the year. I've read a couple articles that have said that the employee really starts to get hurt by this over the years. The match is really nothing special, I think it's 50% match up to 5% or so.

Overall, its a good job, that I get paid $80k + 10% bonus based on divisions performance for and we get yearly 2% raises.  I live less than two miles away and I usually work about 35-40 hours a week and none of it is all that stressful or anything. Should I get all worked up about this? Because I kind of just think about what they will do next in order to make some extra money and take away from the employees.

</end rant>
Title: Re: Benefits keep changing
Post by: DeltaBond on December 25, 2015, 04:16:27 PM
That's just one benefit you get from your job... its definitely not good that they keep changing it, and possibly a reason to walk... BUT do you get other benefits?  Life insurance, health insurance, paid time off?
Title: Re: Benefits keep changing
Post by: Rockatansky on December 26, 2015, 06:40:52 AM
Health insurance is nothing to write home about, I use their high deductible so I can save in the HSA as well. Everything else seems to be fairly standard across the industry. I'm just disappointed that they are messing with my bottom line, which is one of the things that I have been accepting because I live so close to work. I could go and make more (and probably work more) at plenty of other places, but i'd be trading that for a lot of car time.
Title: Re: Benefits keep changing
Post by: matchewed on December 26, 2015, 06:49:32 AM
Should you get worked up about it all? Probably not.

Should you do something if you can? Probably.

Rather than talk to management directly talk to your fellow workers; if enough people demand changes back to things like weekly contributions to 401k's and the like then that will probably be done.

Talk to HR as well. Upper managers may or may not be the ones deciding this or might be oblivious to the effects. HR is going to be tasked with bringing talented people on board with less than stellar benefits? Seems like they'd be interested in knowing that.