Originally Posted by
Wasatch Phantom
It seems to me that it is in our (individual) best interests to "max out" the IRS 415(c) limits. In other words, the IRS limits the maximum amount of tax deductible contributions to an individuals retirement account(s) and we should strive (if we are financially able to) to hit those limits.
Right now DAL makes a contribution to our defined contribution plan and to our 401K as well. For 2009 the 415(C) limit is $49,000 I don't know any DAL pilot that will hit that mark. (Maybe a few very senior dudes.)
What would be wrong with the notion that as individual pilots we could specify either a fixed dollar amount, or fixed percentage, per pay period so that we could as individuals take maximum advantage of the IRS rules and do the best we can to provide for our retirement?
I agree that maxing out retirement contributions is a big deal. As it was explained to me, what you want to do is prevented by IRS rules. There are more limitations than just the 415 limit you wrote about. There's one for maximum individual contributions (around $16K, I think?), and another one that limits the "qualified" amount of income from which you can make contributions. If you're over 50 you can make catch up contributions, which aren't included in any of the limits. Once you hit any of those limits I think you're done.
The R&I folks are doing seminars at all the pilot bases during the next 3 weeks. This would be a great question to ask them
Originally Posted by
Wasatch Phantom
I certainly hope that the defined contribution percentages are increased in our next contract, but as one who: a.) Hates paying taxes, and b.) wants to do all I can to fund my retirement, this seems like a good idea.
I agree on getting the percentages up. We get a 1% bump each year up to 14% in 2012, but that's only 3% better than AMR's B plan pays in addition to their 1.25% per year A plan. It's not enough, in my view. Still, when you compare it to everybody elses numbers on the main page of this site, it's not bad. UAL gets 16%, but LUV's is only 7.3%. CAL gets 12.75% plus a frozen pension. Airtran is 10.5%, and JetBlue only has a match up to 5%. Everybody else's numbers will make it more difficult to raise ours, but we should at least equal UAL in my view.