William Del Pilar's Blog: Benefits —What Can We Learn from Michael Vick Saga?

Will the legal system sack Michael Vick again?

I was all set to write about the KFFL Internal Fantasy Baseball League, of which I am drafting in, when I saw an Associated Press story at ESPN.com, regarding accusations by the U.S. Department of Labor against Michael Vick. They are accusing him of withdrawing more than $1.3 million in pension plan funds.

He supposedly did this to pay restitution for his dog fighting conspiracy case as well as attorney compensation for his bankruptcy cases. I found two good links to reports that talk about it versus snippets by others that took from the AP story:

Feds: Vick illegally spent pension funds

Ex-NFL Star Vick Lands in More Hot Water

For those wondering, a pension plan is, according to InvestorWords.com:

A qualified retirement plan set up by a corporation, labor union, government, or other organization for its employees. A business could offer a profit-sharing plan, a stock bonus plan, an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), a thrift plan, a target benefit plan, a money purchase pension plan, or a defined benefit plan.

The Department of Labor is accusing Vick of making “prohibited transfers” and violating his duties as trustee of a pension plan that covered nine current or former MV7 employees. MV7 is Vick’s marketing company.

We’re not talking something minor here. This is serious business, especially because of how the economy is affecting many Americans and their retirement plans. Vick is not alone, as the suit includes two of his financial advisers who took part in the alleged transfers, Mary Wong and David Talbot. This would make sense, as Vick, as well as most of us, would not know how to do this without help. They, if not someone else, probably would have done the transfer(s) for him.

To me this is stunning, but what is more stunning was a comment at a Web site asking what the big deal was since it was his company and his money. It showed me not all of us understand how the benefits side of a job (health, retirement, and other plans) work.

That comment is what led me to write this blog. In general terms, it’s not Vick’s money, as these are funds that are set aside for employees. Sure, organizations benefit from pension plans, but whether it was Vick’s money put in through MV7 for the employees or put in by the employees; it’s not Vick’s right to tamper with the funds.

This does bring up something important; when we go to work for a company, most of us, especially when we’re young, just think of the salary. A job is more than just a salary; there are health benefits, pension plans, and bonuses (both earned and guaranteed) to stay.

To me and many others, salary is just one part in deciding who to work for. I didn’t mention “trust in our employers,” but that’s one of the most important factors I try to make in deciding to work for someone. Sometimes you trust them and sometimes you don’t. If you don’t, you need to move on! In this case, it appears as if the employees who stuck around and trusted Vick may have lost out.

I remember when I left the military and had two job interviews set up to take advantage of the skills I learned there. Salary was not even the focus as it was straightforward. However, they sat down and told me how their health benefits, pension plan, bonuses, and further education programs worked. It was a sweet deal—both organizations were large and able to do this.

Having health coverage my whole life up to that point, I felt it was important to research the civilian workforce versus the military before getting out. I wanted to know about the costs and anything else I could take advantage of at a new job to benefit my future.

In the end, I went back to school and eventually made my impact in the fantasy sports industry—but not without sacrifice. I knew what I was sacrificing (no health benefits and no pension plan), but knew it would pay off for me in the end, which it did.

I wonder how many of us actually pay attention to the benefits side of packages—how they work and what they mean—while looking for a job.

I guess I’m trying to say we need to begin to understand this process, the relevancy of these benefits, and how they affect us both short and long term. Let’s not forget the character of the individuals running the organization we’re working for! We’re not just working for that salary; we’re working for our future, our retirement and ownership. In this case, Vick broke the trust we expect from ownership or management.

I wonder if Vick believed he had no choice, as he was desperate for cash. Come on, his legal fees alone were hastening his bankruptcy!

I want to believe if he had a heart and understood what this money is meant for, he wouldn’t have done it. If he did it, though, I think he knew what his actions meant.

For the record, it’s one thing to break a fan’s heart in what they want to see from you in how you carry yourself, represent the team, and perform on the field in a win or loss. It’s another thing to steal from someone’s future!

I hope there is a way to recoup the money through government laws that protect us (think FDIC), as well as taking Vick back to court to recover it. I also hope current and future owners of organizations can learn from this. I hope employees begin to take a harder look at who they work for and why, as well as begin realizing a job is not just about salary, but also their future through retirement and other benefits!

Next blog, back to what I know best and what we love: Fantasy sports! As always, don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/wdelpilar.