Hello from the land of OZ!

[retread]

Toto says hi, too!

Well, I feel like a kid again. Retired in 2000 only to wake up one morning and it smelled like my retirement was running dry. So back to work, hence the handle "retread".

Like John Petrowski, I joined the military right out of high school. But back then, the commies were building the Berlin Wall, so I joined the Navy to help save the world, or to see the world, I can't remember. Signed up to go into submarines, so they sent me to flight school. Really wanted to fly anyway (this is a good sea story... too long to go into it now!)

After my stint flying off carriers, I joined the airlines. TWA that is...., you know, the up and down airline that went down for the last time just a year after I retired. Well, to make a long story longer, down went my pension, my ESOP, and retirement funds, aided along with the mess on wall street (bunch of crooks! send 'em all to jail!)

Where was I? OH... so after a long deliberation, and considering that no one wants to hire an old used up pilot, I decided to sell insurance. Got my license for KS and MO January ('07) and chose to serve the senior market (I R 1!)

Did a lot of other things that didn't pay, like amateur racing, building computers, etc. (They say there is no money in amateur racing, but I know there is.... I PUT IT THERE!)

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

Just curious...what pecentage of your vested pension was in TWA stck.

Oh...welcome!

 

[retread]

None, that I know of.... but the "vested" pension went bankrupt, and the PBGC took it over. They claimed I made too much money, so they cut it back. In hindsight, you may say all of the pension was TWA stock, (although not technically) because the pension was self-funded.

As far as TWA stock is concerned, I had a few shares that were issued in lieu of salary during the last financial crisis that I lost, but lost the most when the company went bankrupt for the third time, and all my ESOP evaporated.

The last straw is that my license to fly passengers on turbojet aircraft expired at age 60 (which Europe has now extended to 65) and no provision was made to fill the gap between mandatory retirement and Social Security benefits. I paid mightily over the years into the SS fund at the wages I made, but Uncle Sam considers that I made so much that I don't need anything to live on from 60 to 62! And to think.... we always practiced safe turns after takeoff at JFK, even with an engine on fire, to miss those World Trade Center Towers! When they came down, so did my 401K.

 

[Frank Stastny]

Good to see you back.

I was wondering where you were. I just figured you were making so much money you didn't have time to post here anymore. Don't we all wish? LOL

How are you doing with Advantage plans? That broker never did get back to me.

 

[retread]

"That broker" is so disorganized that it is amazing that he gets anything done. I have asked several times since applying for appointments for my approval/agent number. He just does not like following up on things.
I just got my agent number (approval) from two carriers a few weeks ago (I applied 2/5/07). As to the other four, nothing has been forthcoming. I made some calls myself, discovered some interesting things about the way insurance appointments are made, and was able to get one of the carriers to give me my number over the phone.
I set a deadline of last Friday for this broker to complete my paperwork, and guess what? Nada. I see him tomorrow and unless I get the results I need, it is adios.
In the meantime, I am surveying other GAs for product appointments... this time without the intervention of an FMO, who I believe is the clog in this pipe. (Believe it or not, even though this broker says he has been in the insurance business for over 17 years, he feigns that he does not know what an FMO is... but I have the name and phone # of his FMO!) So much for mentoring!