Apparently Mary Kay’s national sales directors see the writing on the wall with this company. Their incomes have been falling for the last several years, as fewer women are joining MK and the purchases of inventory are dropping. The number of cars on the road are falling, and sales directors are buying their way into the pink Cadillac.

With numbers falling, this spells bad news for nsds. You see, their income depends on recruiting and ordering. And their retirement depends on the same thing. The retirement income of an nsd is based on her average commissions prior to retirement, so if commissions are dropping, that means the expected retirement payout is dropping too. Best to retire as soon as possible!

Upon retirement, Mary Kay purchases an annuity that pays out the benefit to the nsd. So the retirement money is very, very safe. If you’re an nsd and you’re scared that Mary Kay is a sinking ship, then retiring now is a good choice. The retirement payout is calculated like this:

  • You must have at least 5 year of service as an nsd to qualify
  • You are eligible to retire on the January 1 after your 65th birthday OR any January 1 after you have been an nsd for 15 years
  • Retirement benefits are paid monthly for 15 years, for a total of 180 payment
  • The amount is 60% of the nsd’s “final average commissions”
  • Final average commissions is the average of the nsd commissions for the best 3 out of the last 5 calendar years of nsd service
  • Included in nsd commissions are all U.S. commissions paid while an nsd, including personal team and unit production commissions
  • Retirement age is 65, but if you want to retire before that and you don’t have your 15 years in, you can do so with a reduced percentage of average final commissions (ex. If you retire at age 59, you will receive 48% of average commissions.)
  • There are lots of other picky details, but this is the general idea

You can see that the last 5 years of commissions are EVERYTHING to this retirement payout calculation. If your commissions are dropping, then your retirement payout is dropping, and you need to get out fast before it goes any lower.

Therefore, TONS of Mary Kay nsds are retiring at “Leadership Conference” (the sales director and above conference) in early 2025. Check out this Facebook thread for some of the names. The rumor is that 34 national sales directors will be retiring at the conference. Wow! I was also interested to see old timers Dawn Dunn and Pamela Waldrop Shaw retiring. They are lifers!!!!

18 COMMENTS

  1. There’s a gal in my director’s unit who has been in MK for over 30 years. She’s been on the quest for director/NSD for most of that time frame. In the last couple years, she “figured it out,” and “earned” the Cadillac after debuting as a director and earning the other two cars (all within a year). Anyway, idk if she is “close” to NSD – she’s also already 60+ – so I wonder if they’ll adjust the age when you CAN debut as an NSD? As it is now, I believe you must have met the qualifications by 60. My director “aged out” and couldn’t be an NSD. She did go through a lot of offspring directors though, and the reabsorption of all those units kept her in the caddie for a long time. This past summer she did get demoted to the middle level car, however.
    Such a fascinating scam once you can get out of the weeds. Awful for those who are putting the money & resources on the line.

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  2. I don’t think Pam Shaw is taking early retirement—I think she is 65. Just like the penalty for early retirement, nsd’s are penalized for LATE retirement. Such a scam from top to bottom!

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  3. I wonder how many of these retiring NSDs will be “retiring” into another MLM. (I remember a lot of former NSDs jumping over to Isagenix some years ago.)

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  4. The spin:

    There’s a leadership vacuum!
    The Company needs leaders!
    There’s room at the top for YOU!
    There’s never been a better time!

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    • They certainly aren’t 65. I met Diane Mentiply at Denver career conference once. I was all a dither. I used to have a nice collection of photos of me with various NSDs. I was obsessed.

  5. Do NSDs have a noncompete clause in their contract when they retire? Or are they free to go to another MLM or work as a “leadership coach”?

    • Charlotte, NC, not Charleston, SC is what I saw.

      Someone said the Dallas Convention Center is undergoing major renovations and won’t be ready for Seminar.

  6. Lisa Madson is also retiring (like Pam Shaw, she is 65). Even though many are taking ‘early’ retirement, a lot of these ladies are in their early 60s, but it’s likely they see the writing on the wall and are getting out before their area ‘production’ really plummets and more significantly impacts their ‘retirement’. Diane Mentiply and Tammy Crayk Smith have jumped on the coaching bandwagon, and it looks like Diane is also hawking some sort of healthy supplements.

  7. It will be interesting to watch what these retiring NSD’s do with their personal units ( if they still have one) Some of them have sales director daughters. Will the daughters magically become top directors with inherited units? We’ll see.

    • Yes! Your crystal ball is correct. It’s already happening. Daughters and sons, too. I can’t think of the son that has already inherited a unit – but I’ve seen the tea on it somewhere – maybe discussion board here, or maybe FB?

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