<story><title>GE freezes pension benefits for 20k employees</title><url>https://www.businessinsider.com/general-electric-freezes-pension-benefits-for-20000-employees-2019-10</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>chrisseaton</author><text>I wouldn’t even agree to getting a defined benefit pension these days - why wouldn’t you want to invest your own money instead of letting one company you happened to work for control your pension?&lt;p&gt;I have a defined benefit pension from a previous employer and frankly I count it as zero in my financial planning since I have no idea if it’s actually coming or not.</text></item><item><author>lotsofpulp</author><text>I doubt it, defined benefit pension plans don&amp;#x27;t make financial sense in the current climate.  Who is able to predict which company will be around in 30 to 60 years in the future, and what the economic climate will be?&lt;p&gt;And much of the pension fund investments are going to the same place as 401k money anyway.  Why not directly invest in VTI and skip paying all the pension fund managers and staff?  It&amp;#x27;s not like they have some secret investment return recipe, and it shows in their performance.</text></item><item><author>eternalny1</author><text>Keep in mind this comes on the heels of the Madoff whistleblower saying GE is a fraud:&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.barrons.com&amp;#x2F;articles&amp;#x2F;ge-insurance-fraud-madoff-whistleblower-report-51565915505&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.barrons.com&amp;#x2F;articles&amp;#x2F;ge-insurance-fraud-madoff-w...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;They piled up massive losses in their insurance division (long term care) and guess who gets slammed because of it?&lt;p&gt;The workers.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>SketchySeaBeast</author><text>It still has value, assuming you&amp;#x27;re intending on working until you retire and the company has no signs of failling - why wouldn&amp;#x27;t you want a (nearly) guaranteed income for the rest of your life?  That doesn&amp;#x27;t preclude you from investing your own extra cash into investments.&lt;p&gt;I understand the dynamics have changed, but my boomer parents and in-laws are both enjoying retirement with the fruits of a defined benefit pension, and both are quite comfortable.</text></comment>
<story><title>GE freezes pension benefits for 20k employees</title><url>https://www.businessinsider.com/general-electric-freezes-pension-benefits-for-20000-employees-2019-10</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>chrisseaton</author><text>I wouldn’t even agree to getting a defined benefit pension these days - why wouldn’t you want to invest your own money instead of letting one company you happened to work for control your pension?&lt;p&gt;I have a defined benefit pension from a previous employer and frankly I count it as zero in my financial planning since I have no idea if it’s actually coming or not.</text></item><item><author>lotsofpulp</author><text>I doubt it, defined benefit pension plans don&amp;#x27;t make financial sense in the current climate.  Who is able to predict which company will be around in 30 to 60 years in the future, and what the economic climate will be?&lt;p&gt;And much of the pension fund investments are going to the same place as 401k money anyway.  Why not directly invest in VTI and skip paying all the pension fund managers and staff?  It&amp;#x27;s not like they have some secret investment return recipe, and it shows in their performance.</text></item><item><author>eternalny1</author><text>Keep in mind this comes on the heels of the Madoff whistleblower saying GE is a fraud:&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.barrons.com&amp;#x2F;articles&amp;#x2F;ge-insurance-fraud-madoff-whistleblower-report-51565915505&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.barrons.com&amp;#x2F;articles&amp;#x2F;ge-insurance-fraud-madoff-w...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;They piled up massive losses in their insurance division (long term care) and guess who gets slammed because of it?&lt;p&gt;The workers.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>ghaff</author><text>Paying out defined benefit plans aren&amp;#x27;t totally at the whim of the company. For example, there are protections through the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and you could probably arrange for your own insurance as well.&lt;p&gt;Having some savings as defined benefit does give you predictability. Even if you don&amp;#x27;t have a defined benefit plan through a company, it may make sense to convert some savings into an annuity of some sort.</text></comment>