Originally Posted by
tomgoodman
Interesting -- I didn't know the "bottom line" result of the pension-dump for the active guys. It was a different story for retired pilots, who took a large, retroactive cut in compensation for work which had already been performed, with no chance to earn it back. I'm glad you guys didn't take that hit too, on top of your pay cuts for future work. Restoration of the pay scale may take a while, but I hope you get it.
The PBGC got a large claim, because we got a large claim. That claim resulted in the large PC-5 recovery that also went to benefit retired pilots. Most retired pilot's losses were in non-qualified funds which were paid directly from the company coffers. It was called non-qualified for a reason, it was completely at risk in a bankruptcy. You received a bankruptcy claim for that loss.
Most retired pilots took the lump sum because they wanted to get as much money for their families as possible. One of the major reasons the plan went under was because too many pilots took too much money out at once. If things had gone differently, you would have your money and I would have nothing. How you view that depends upon which side of the fence you are sitting on.