Originally Posted by
UALinIAH
I have never heard of this A plan rumor. I don’t put much stock in it. There are still too many of us who lost it all and have 0 faith in any plan we don’t have 100% control over. If you want your voice to count, it begins with electing reps at the LEC who will do their councils wishes and shoot straight. When they forget who they serve, recall is our only avenue. We’re almost done with the process now. I believe IAH was the last place where there was a push to change reps.
Don't be too hard on A-funds. They're a hell of a benefit if done right, but its crucial to understand the there is a difference between how a fund operates, the amount of money it actually has, its actual liabilities and what ERISA says it has to have. The problem is that last part, which is usually wildly inaccurate but is what drives legally required contributions that can run into the 9 figures.
In fact, we just saw another 1/2 pct jump in interest rates. For all the caterwauling in the business press, that's just taking rates back into low part of "normal" after a decade plus of essentially zero. It's starting to get into the realm of where the go-forward funding requirements drop off substantially and companies start to say "hmmm, I can set up a self funding plan rather than paying out real money every two weeks? Tell me more!".
If you don't understand how long term interest rates affect the "health" of DB plans, I suggest some reading up. The interesting part is how existing, surviving pension funds, which have been funded for years now assuming near zero interest, have their funding requirements change abruptly because of the rise in interest rates.