thx much LeineLodge, Brocc and Amish. Will read pwa again now... must have skipped that part last time while looking for reserve rules etc. Was wondering where that "Savings Plan" I kept seeing mentioned was. Wish they'd use the same names that show up on the Fidelity pages, or call them "Plan A, B, C and D" or something.

All the paperwork I got from Delta says to call the Emp. Svc. Center, but I've tried them 3 times now and they can't even tell me when I'm eligible to retire! Swear to gosh, they literally could not tell me if I could retire at 52, 55, some # of active years with the company, 60, and what benefits I'd get or not get compared to going to 65. Nor where to read to find out. Nor could the HR Operations Support people in ATL. After hours and hours on the phone, they couldn't tell me what amount of make-up contributions I should look for from my prior long mil-leave, nor what account they'd go into, nor why certain amounts showed up and what was still left to pay. It's extremely painful to educate yourself on all this by working through the sources my company paperwork gives me...

I see from a 1-page "plan overview" of the DPSP I just found (and now know what that is) that the company makes a 2% contribution even if you elect not to contribute to the plan.

?????
--- I thought there was some "matching" plan where I needed to make a certain contribution myself and the company would match it up to some amount? But I haven't found such a beast yet... just want to at least be sure I'm not leaving $$ on the table by not contributing to one of these! Thx again (yes, I'm reading to get spun up, but you know how nice these L&G knowledge nuggets are while studying!)