We're told it can't happen, yet ....
"American Airlines Inc. parent AMR Corp. has asked a federal bankruptcy court in New York for permission to allow the airline to amend its frozen pilots' pension plan so that retiring pilots cannot receive their accrued benefits as a lump-sum.
If lump-sum payments were allowed, the result would be a significant increase in the number of pilots retiring, resulting in a pilot shortage, AMR said in its filing last week with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York."