Originally Posted by
kwri10s
Again, please give me a reference that says if the employee group agrees to lower their benefit it cannot be reduced. I agree the company cannot reduce your benefits. However, the split retirement concern is whether the majority of the pilots who don't have an A plan can lower the A plan benefits if those that still have it, in order to increase their cash balance or B fund later. In a TA years from now. Is it possible or not? Reference please.
I don’t have the reference at my finger tips, but A plan benefits already earned are yours. A Plan benefits you could earn are open for “negotiation“. This isn’t really new. The legacy pensions that were “lost” to bankruptcy didn’t actually disappear. The beneficiaries retained what was already earned, but lost the ability to add on. It is true that some companies dumped already accrued benefits onto the PBGC which has a cap on benefits. However, even then, most of the plans were well enough funded to pay out most of what was earned up to the point PBGC assumed responsibility. Pensions are not a risk free place to park company paid money. However, when you measure it against the risks of a 401k the only significant plus for the 401k is the ability to pass unused money to your heirs.