I don't remember seeing where the executives at FedEx were going to give up their Defined Benefit plan. They have always had a "separate" one from the general population except for the pilots. Their defined benefit plan is in the same group as the pilots, that is my understanding, and that is from hearing it straight from the horses mouth. Therefore, I don't think that they will give theirs up, and that ours will continue to be a benefit for our pilots.

The other thing to remember is that a defined benefit plan is actually cheaper for the company than a straight defined contribution plan. They get to save cash up front and rely upon their quite sizable investment plans to pay the benefits down the road. In addition, they win when pilots die before they reach a certain number of years into retirement and they realize a gain. If they paid it all up front, it would cost them more over the long haul.

Another thing with going with a single plan consisting of solely defined contribution is that you bump up against IRS limits for the year, which is somewhere around 45k or so.

FDXLAG, if you have more indepth questions on this, I would give the retirement committee guys a call and discuss the various options with them and get their perspective on past/current/future issues in the retirement arena. I know for one that I am not anywhere near an expert on this issue, and I defer to their knowledge on retirement issues at all times.