Originally Posted by
kronan
Boy,
there's been a lot of silly comments.
In no apparent order, or reference.
Trust fund would be managed by the hired guns FedEx currently pays big $$ to manage our existing Trust funds. No way it'd be 100% stocks.
Speaking of 100% stocks. It's not the Returns on Stocks that would make a variable plan self-funding. Rather the requirement to contribute a set percentage of payroll to this new Trust fund. Unlike our Current trust plan where the hired guns evaluate the funding levels and either contribute, or skip. (As an example, consider our last quarters earning reports. In the footnotes, a $794M pension loss, but no plans to contribute additional funds to the Pension Trust)
Pension Plans it's not Burger King. It's not, I'd like 80% of Option C with a side of option B cash over cap. It's not, I like FDA which allows a sidestep of some of the expense for Pensions because it's more of a pay as you go kinda thing...subject to renewal each Contract Cycle. Requiring Negotiations to improve. Allowing Management to argue, $$ now in Salary or deferred $$ in the FDA.
FDA's is something our NC has said they considered, but went with the Once and it's done option.
A Variable Plan isn't set in concrete. Absolutely nothing impossible about perhaps improving the Floor or modifying the earnings cap in subsequent contracts.
Seem to be a lot of Aging FedEx'ers with the impression that a change to the FAE in our Traditional Plan will be retroactive. Hey, the VB plan doesn't do much for me, let's change the FAE to 300 or 360. Shoot, my FAE is already above that.
Well, whether it's a transition to a new FAE, an FDA value, VB plan. It's gonna be, just that. A transition. As of Jan 1 2023 our new A plan Benefit formula takes effect (in reality quite likely June 1st to align with what I think if FedEx's FY, but I didn't look it up).
So, that means, improved A plan will be in effect for those retiring in 2024. If it's FAE up to 360 (which is really the min I'd like to see it at, as opposed to the 300'sh the DC limit is likely to be in 3 years) Well, it won't be a $180k pension for those retiring in 2024. But likely a $140k pension. (FWIW, a 2% floor VB would add another $7,200 to the $130)
A Traditional Pension is superior to a year by year $$ based pension accumulation. The year by year becomes superior if you're lucky enough to have been young enough to continue working beyond the YOS cap. Also superior if the year by year has an increasing salary cap as opposed to the traditional
There are several possible ideas to explore. Simply put, very few of us are interested in the variable plan no matter how much they sell it (or change the name). What causes loss of trust is that the union leadership knows this and is still in love with the plan despite its lack of support from the members.
There are several other alternatives. I have no issue with renegotiating retirement benefits. Most of us have around 3-5 contract cycles to deal with. It depends on length of the contract, time it takes to achieve a contract, etc. In the past 20 years, we’ve really only had two (2006 and 2015). Im not counting the extension of the 2006 contract (bridge agreement). In short, it’s just not a deal killer to have to renegotiate our pension. One of the allures of the variable plan was the fact that it wouldn’t have to be negotiated every time. But, as we all know, we would. There would be attempts to increase the benefit, and we all know that.
So, let’s have a real survey and just ask direct questions. Which one would you prefer for us to push for: Variable, improvements to our current fund, flat dollar, B fund improvements? If we have overwhelming support of the variable plan, I’ll support the majority. I think we all know that won’t happen despite the relentless hard sell and the amazing amount of $$$$ we’ve spent so far on this plan. We present this to the company and we get the Heisman.