Attention VZ Managers!

Please contact Harris Financial at (800) 281-3980 for an important update on the 10-year treasury rate and how it may affect your lump sum if you have recently received a RIF.

GATT at 4.41% Again Today

It's starting to look like the GATT Rate for this month will be pretty close to the previous quarter's rate. It's still too soon to say for sure, so please stay tuned as we continue to update throughout the month.

GATT Still Hovering Around 4.4%

The GATT Rate has been fluctuating between 4.39 and 4.41 over the past few trading days. For those of you monitoring the change in the quarterly GATT, this is still not a big move from the past quarter, which is good news.

Attention Financial Advisors

Please don't call us impersonating hard-working, good people from companies like Verizon, AT&T, and Boeing.

Folks, if your financial advisor needs to call us and ask us questions in order to properly help you plan your retirement, then perhaps we ought to be the team advising you. Just food for thought.

GATT Rate Hovering Around 4.41% Today

After closing at 4.43% yesterday.

November GATT Update

This isn't the start to November that many of you had hoped for. The GATT Rate has been significantly higher to start the month, closing at 4.27 and 4.34 for the first two trading days. It's still very early in the month though, so it's still too early to tell what the average for the entire month will be.

If you work for AT&T or Verizon and have questions about the GATT Rate, please call us at (800) 281-3980.

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We are financial advisors whose goal is to help people gather as much information as possible in order to make an informed retirement decision. As a professional courtesy, we ask that other financial advisors do not call us for information related to the GATT Rate, or any company's pension plan.

New Verizon EISP Offer

We have heard of multiple people in the mid-Atlantic region who have received solicitations for a Verizon EISP offer with a last day of employment of December 19th. We're not sure which job titles this affects, but if you have any questions about the offer, please call Harris Financial Group at (800) 281-3980.

Interest Rate Updates Coming Soon -- November Is Almost Here!

Once again, we will be posting daily interest rate updates for the month of November, which is a significant month for many of our readers regardless of who their employer is. Unfortunately, the interest rate environment here at the end of October is substantially higher than it was just a few weeks ago, and it will be important to monitor whether that trend continues in November.

Please continue to check this website, or call Harris Financial Group at (800) 281-3980 with any questions.

New Interest Rates and Pension Band Rates Have Now Been Updated at VZ Benefits Center

The Verizon Benefits Center has updated two key components of Associates’ Lump Sum Pension calculations. The GATT Rate for the 4th quarter (4.37%) now appears for benefit commencement dates in October-November-December 2009. In addition, the pension band increase of approximately 3.5% has also been updated. For those of you planning to retire with the October 31st EISP offer, you should now be able to get accurate lump sum projections. If you need any assistance with these projections, please call Harris Financial Group at (800) 281-3980, and we will be happy to help you.

For Verizon Associates in West Virginia, we know that there are also several of you who are curious about what your lump sum pension amount would be if you were to retire in the 4th Quarter of 2009. You should now be able to view these amounts online or request them from the benefits center. Harris Financial Group is available for free retirement consultations, either over the phone or in person, and we would be happy to help you gather the information that you need to make your decisions.

Reminder: November is the Next Important Month for VZ Associates

Now that we know what the August GATT Rate was, we're now setting our sights on the next significant month, November. The November rate will be used for Jan-Feb-March 2010 retirement dates. We won't be providing daily updates on the GATT Rate until we get closer to November, but we will post any meaningful moves that may help identify the overall trend.

If you would like Harris Financial Group to help you evaluate your lump sum pension amount for the 4th Quarter of this year, please give us a call at (800) 281-3980. We should be able to help you determine whether the benefits center has updated the system with the new GATT Rate.