MelT

Can you live on 50% of what you are making now? That is the question. Can you afford the monthly premiums to make it so you can have 67% (after the wait) instead?

busdriver12 you would be paying $466 a month ($5600/year) for an annual benefit of $59,500 (tax free) after being out for a year. You have another wage earner who also makes good money, so you can self insure and invest that $466 a month to build your own safety net.

Others, particularly those who don't have another high income earner, may be better off buying the MEC policy, even with the higher premiums, to cover their living expenses in the event they go out on LTD.

If you only have 6 years to go, you would spend about $28,000 in premiums (5 years worth, wouldn't make sense to keep it the last year), which would easily be recouped in the first year in the event you lost your medical. Remember, you can lose your medical for all kinds of reasons even though you are in "good health". Plus, the benefit goes to age 65, even though you might otherwise retire earlier.

I've been out a while, drawing on the MEC plan and I've benefited almost 5 times what I paid in premiums the previous 10+ years. Could I survive without that money? Absolutely. But it sure helps to maintain my family's quality of life and will be more important when the company plan drops to 50%. I'm obviously very glad that I purchased the MEC insurance. If the premiums had been these new higher rates, my benefit would have only been about twice what I paid in. I would still consider that a win.

I guess I'm part of the reason the premiums are going up, but I will continue to buy it when I get back to work. I'd trade the benefit checks for my health and job any day, but thats the way life goes sometimes.

I would encourage every pilot at FedEx to take a hard look at the MEC plan and figure out what works best for you. Its kind of like being in an accident or being the victim of a crime, nobody thinks it will happen to them. The MEC plan sure comes in handy when it does happen to you.