Originally Posted by
bigmacdaddy
Prospective pilot here. Looking at the new contract it appears the only option for retirement is the DC plan. Am I right to assume the company will contribute 16% of your Gross Earnings for every pay period into the 401K? Is there any requirement for employee contribution? Just curious what pilots are doing for retirement going forward. Also looking at the commuter policy, it appears that if you don't make your second flight, you can call crew sked and be taken off the trip or reserve with no jeopardy, just want to make sure I have that correct too. Lastly, are you commuters able to combine trips or reserve for larger blocks of time off? Thanks for your help everybody!
For every $1 you earn they put in 16 cents. There is no requirement for you to do anything. However, you can put up to $17,500 ($22,500 if you are 55 or older) in per year yourself and not pay taxes on that. I've done it every year since 2000 and its the
smartest thing I have ever done. If you exceed the IRS limits (Its close to $50k) then you get it paid out as income and taxed.
Read the book "Millionaire Next Door". Best book ever. I"m in my 40s and I can stop working if I wanted because I've saved.
Lots of pilots own rental houses, some have military retirements, others have businesses or have just saved money over the years.
If you can't make the 2nd commute flight just call the crew desk. You will be removed without pay, but they won't hassle you. I've only had it happen once in 13 years of commuting and they were very cool about it.
Most commuters either bid 4 day trips, or put trips back to back (i.e. 2 trips that are 2 days each). With PBS you can select options that help you maximize blocks of days off for commuting.
Hope that helps.