Originally Posted by
Night Hawk 6
Up until now the b-fund had a 90 day lock-in for those under 60, and a 60 day look-back for those retiring after age 60. This allowed some protection if the market took a nose dive as you were about to retire. As you say the fund is all in equities and very vulnerable to a dramatic market fluctuation. Pilots will no longer have any protection and should the market be in the dumps as the funds are being liqudated, well the pilots are now just along for the ride. You are correct in stating that pilots have a great job, one that indeed is tough to walk away from, but I dare say not very many will tell you they enjoy the company they work for. Assuming you are a commercial airline pilot, employed for someone other than SWA, can you say you enjoy working for the criminals running the other legacy carriers?
Ask the recently acquired Airtran pilots how they feel about SWA.... Bottom line is every company has it's warts. All pilots think they will retire early (or others should) in their 30's and 40's, somewhere around their 50's, their lifestyle is set, kids are gone, etc and they settle in for the "best" years of their career. If a pilot hasn't left AA by now, they are in for the long haul. Best of luck to AA in getting back to an industry leading contract.