Like Vanguard, Prudential Financial to freeze some medical benefits; workers feel 'shocked and betrayed' [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

Dec. 16—Prudential Financial in summer 2022 will stop contributing to medical savings accounts for current retirees, according to a letter sent this month.

In addition, Prudential retirees must now use all the money accrued in the accounts over ten years, rather than over their lifetime. And any remaining balance reverts back to Prudential.

Pamela Faccone, a Newark-based employee for 31 years from 1987 and 2018, said she feels "shocked and betrayed."

"Like many other loyal employees, I saved for retirement but had figured this account into my short and long term plans. Trying to correct my course at this late stage is like asking an aircraft carrier to turn on a dime," said the 63-year-old. She counted on these so-called RMSA funds of $94,000 for healthcare premiums and medical expenses for the rest of her life.

Prudential's announcement comes just after Vanguard also modified its retiree medical accounts. Based in Malvern, Pa., Vanguard initially cut the benefit entirely with one day's notice, but reversed the decision after an outcry from employees.

Current Vanguard retirees and those who retire by the end of next year will retain their medical accounts. But anyone hired since the beginning of 2020 is ineligible for the benefit.

The move is not a surprise to experts. Large employers for years have worked to limit healthcare benefits to deal with rising health costs, said Tricia Neuman, senior vice president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and executive director of its Program on Medicare Policy.

"We see a pattern of employers looking for ways to limit liability and in many instances, the shift saves money but moves costs to retirees," said Neuman.

The percentage of large firms offering retirees health care benefits has fallen steadily over time, to 27% in 2021 from 66% in 1988, Kaiser's annual Employer Health Benefits Survey found.

"This is part of a pattern of decline of retiree health contributions over many years," Neuman said. "Employers are scaling back their liability and contributions for retiree health benefits and generally shifting costs" onto workers.

Kaiser's 2021 Employer Health Benefits Survey

In cases like the Mussos, long-time employees' account values grew to hundreds of thousands of dollars over decades. That's in part because Prudential credited the accounts a 4% annual interest rate.

That also stops under the new benefit.

One former employee wrote in the Pru Crew Facebook group: "I understand the need to cut costs, but putting a plan in place that will likely result in retirees forfeiting money seems contradictory to the company's focus on saving and planning for retirement."

Faconne also wrote a letter to Prudential executives, saying: "I was proud that I worked for a company that valued ethics and keeping its promises. I feel duped for believing the hype. They changed the rules in the middle of the game," adding, "It's not too late to do the right thing."

Headquartered in Newark, N.J., Prudential Financial [symbol: PRU] employs tens of thousands worldwide, including in sales offices at Lancaster, Pittsburgh, Chalfont, Dresher, Willow Grove, and Scranton, Pa., and New Jersey towns such as Woodbridge and South Plainfield.

Dubbed "Mother Pru" and "the Rock", the 145-year-old company was once considered a paternalistic employer. Now, many Prudential retirees — and current workers— are taking to social media to decry the financial services company ending its generous medical retirement accounts.

Retirees by next summer must use the RMSA balance within a 10-year time frame. Prudential expanded the eligible expenses to include out-of-pocket deductibles, copays, and co-insurance, or qualified medical expenses listed in IRS publication 502, such as contact lenses and eyeglasses, dental services, and hearing aids.

These can be paid for using RMSA money even after the benefit freeze in mid-2022.

But retirees aren't the only ones angry. Current employees, particularly those transferred as part of Prudential's sale of its retirement business to Great-West's Empower, get nothing under the benefits change. Employees who are not old enough to retire may have to forfeit any money accrued.

Cost shift continues

What can workers do?

Health savings accounts are another vehicle large employers are offering as a way to shift medical expenses to workers. But these also offer tax advantages.

HSAs "take in your pre-tax money and disburse tax free money," said Ann Kavanaugh, a former Vanguard financial advisor, although only for medical expenses. Those can include everything from eyeglasses, in-home medical care, hand sanitizer and other costs.

HSAs are best "when you have a high deductible health plan. If you chose a high deduct health plan and are under 65, you can save a substantial amount of money with HSAs" if your health holds out, said Kavanaugh.

Workers with high deductible health plans can contribute $3,600 a year for individual plans and $7,200 for family plans, according to the latest 2021 I.R.S. contribution tables.

Still, Americans have been slow to adopt HSAs, perhaps because they're more helpful to those with high-deductible healthcare plans.

The number of accounts rose to an estimated 31.2 million, with $87.3 billion in total assets at the end of Jan. 2021, up 6% since the end of 2020. That's according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America's latest report and figures.

"Even employees who have an HSA often don't understand how they work, or how contributions can grow, and most have no idea how much health care will cost in retirement," the report found.

Prudential's retirees aren't impressed

Theresa Rossi said she trusted her former employer Prudential to be "fair and ethical. This account was a part of our retirement plan, we are not wealthy people. This will be financially divesting to most of us. It is very disappointing that Prudential is taking advantage of the most vulnerable sector for their bottom line," said Rossi, who worked from 1978 to 2012.

"I was always proud to be a part of Prudential. I certainly do not feel that way today."

In Prudential's plan documents, similar to Vanguard, the company includes legal language saying it can modify or terminate its policies and benefits "without notice to or consent of any participant, employee or former employee."

But Prudential's focus on retirement could complicate its plans to remove benefits from its retirees.

For financial services companies such as Prudential, "they're in the business of planning for retirement," said Robert Field, professor of law and health management and policy at Drexel University. "This could be a black mark for them if the public thinks they're not taking care of their own retirees."

Malvern-based Vanguard will modify a popular medical benefit for retirees and employees, instead of cutting it entirely as announced in October, according to a letter from the mutual fund company.

Current retirees and those who retire by the end of next year will retain their generous retiree medical accounts (RMAs). They will continue receiving the annual funding of $1,000 in retirement, plus $500 if they have a spouse.

Vanguard employees who were hired before 2020 and will be at least 40 years old next year will retain whatever benefit they have earned when the plan is frozen. Anyone hired since the beginning of 2020 is not eligible for the benefit, which gave active employees a credit of $5,500 for each year of employment.

"This is a huge improvement on taking away the RMAs," said Ann Kavanaugh, a financial planner with iValue Financial Planning in Wyomissing, Pa., and retired Vanguard financial adviser.

"At least the people who were already accumulating money in this unfunded account will have some benefit. I can promise you there are employees who factor into their ability to retire that RMA. It keeps them there at Vanguard," she said.

The company's abrupt decision in October to end the benefit sent shock waves through the Vanguard retiree community. The cuts came at a time when Vanguard is under pressure to improve customer service and continue setting the pace for low-cost investing.

Vanguard's chief executive, Mortimer "Tim" Buckley, said in October that the company "got it dead wrong" when it cut the popular retiree medical accounts with just one day's notice. Within a week, Vanguard reversed its decision, saying it would come up with a permanent solution, which it shared with employees and retirees in a Nov. 15 letter.

Vanguard, which has $8.4 trillion in assets and employs about 14,000 in the U.S., did not say how many employees and retirees have the accounts or how much they have accrued.

Vanguard's pay is considered lower than most in the financial industry, but with generous benefits. The retiree medical accounts were a substantial perk that made up for the lower salaries, current and former workers have said.

Details of the changes are available on Vanguard's external employee website: CrewConnect.Vanguard.com.

This story was corrected on Dec. 8, 2021, to say that benefits for current retirees and those who retire by the end of 2022 have not changed. "type":"text

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