Originally Posted by
crewdawg
I get what you're saying, but they're fundamentally different programs. Hitting your known retirement stop as a 121 pilot isn't being fired, layed off, nor is it an unexpected event. To your last point, that may come to pass via means testing, though that's a hot potato that few politicians are going to want to touch.
Interesting dilemma, whether to take government benefits to which you are legally entitled, vs. being selective as to the perceived intent.
Similar context, in many/most states you can get unemployment after leaving the military. Regardless as to whether you resigned, got RIFed, or your fixed-term enlistment expired (you might or might not be offered the opportunity to reenlist).
How about disability pay for baby bonding? CA collects the payroll tax from commuters domiciled in the state, and then makes it very difficult to actually collect any benefit. Commuters are 100% legally entitled (since they paid in) but they implement large bureaucratic hurdles to discourage access to your benefit (it's very easy if you're a CA resident).
Do most people who are eligible for .gov benefits exercise such selectivity? Or is that just a thing with pilots? Bearing in mind that pilots typically pay more into the system than most other workers.
In this case if I was a long-time PA resident or commuter and had paid into the system I would take the benefit. I would not move/transfer to PA for that specific purpose.