While most retirees are paying off their homes, I’m still making payments on one we haven’t lived in for over ten years. Plus, I’ll continue to pay for nine more years. This was part of a good news/bad news scenario that I experienced in the 20 years of working for LIN Television. It is there that I earned a lifetime retirement pension, but they also put me in a difficult position by moving us to Decatur, Illinois.

I have to admit that I was excited for the promotion and the opportunity to be the General Manager of a television station. It was a unique venture, transitioning from an ABC network affiliation to NBC. The challenge included geographical expansion, re-branding, and creating a new culture for 130 employees. I gladly accepted the position, but felt the need to immediately buy a home and become part of the community. My wife reluctantly joined me and took a position on my staff. Unfortunately, we had trouble selling our Indianapolis area home and immediately felt the pressure of double mortgages. This started a real estate chain reaction that will continue to haunt us for many years to come.

Since my retirement two years ago, I get a monthly pension check from the LIN Television retirement fund. However, I also get a monthly bill from Regions Bank that I’ve now come to identify as my “Reverse Pension.” I can’t really blame it anyone but myself, but two years after moving to Decatur and buying a home, LIN sold the station and although unconnected the real estate market fell apart. To make a long story short, I was soon replaced by the new company. At the same time, my wife accepted a promotion with LIN and moved us to Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, our Decatur home sat unoccupied for several years, and while we were trying to get settled in Austin, we still owned homes in Indy and Decatur. It was a cash flow nightmare that would only continue!

The Indianapolis property finally closed while we were buying in Austin, so we only briefly had to shift money from our IRA to cover the down payment. We eventually found a renter for Decatur, since there was still a glut of unsold homes on the market. This helped with cash flow but the largest area employer had shifted its massive operation to Chicago. Our home value promptly dropped in half, putting us “well under water.” I began to look at short sale options that included my current financial arrangement with Regions. The house finally sold after 6 years on the market for fifty cents on the dollar. Quite frankly it was a welcome relief at the time.

It’s now four years later and we’ve moved to Portland, Oregon, once again as part of a LIN Television relocation opportunity for my wife. We bought a home here after 6-months in an apartment, and remarkably sold our Austin condo in a reasonable time frame and at a small profit. Two years after the move, LIN sold the station and my wife immediately “went across the street” to work for the competitor. That TV station by no coincidence was being operated by a former LIN executive. This was also the time that I began receiving my LIN-TV pension.

As you can see, LIN Television has been an important part of both of our careers. The company no longer exists, but I’m still on their payroll. The LIN executive who lured my wife to the competition has also just retired, so our personal connections to our former employer are now minimal. Throughout the years, we’ve both gotten great opportunities, but with the media business the wind changes quickly. What LIN currently gives me every month for those twenty years of service, Regions takes away a quarter of it to pay for the house in Decatur. It’s what I call my “Reverse Pension,” and I cringe every time I make a payment.