Assuming:

$30k/yr pension
Retire at 56 live until 80, 24 years
Value of pension roughly $720,000

Unless you new position will allow you to save $72k+ per year I would stay where you are.

$40k is low for an airline pilot BUT you have to look at what you are flying and the fact you get a pension. That pension adds another $29,000 per year to your income, without having to save money in a 401k like the rest of us.

Wait for that retirement then jump to something else. At least it is money in the bank.

Some one gets it!
The reality is he will be hiring to the tail end of the regional hiring food chain, the guaranteed pension would mean that making a living/liveable wage would be easier. Hiring on to the end of a hiring binge is problematic on the best of days.

you see whats awesome about this is that this is all i read on the forums here and i get more and more depressed about spending a dime on aviation every day. this close to my ATP and the dread of joining a regional inspired massively by these forums just leaves me thinking.. umm.. what was the name of that truck driver school?
ugghh and im 33..

btw that really did make me laugh.. Mescaline based clown ahhhh F me

With your type of time, apply to the majors. Life over here is far better than the regionals, and I don't think you'd regret it. Or go to the regionals, and get out as quick as you can.

And for all the guys complaining about the regionals...trust me, it does and WILL get better for you all. In 8 months at a legacy, I can attest to that statement that your worst day at a major is worlds better than your best day at the regionals. Stay strong!

I would stay where you are at and go work for a good fractional when you retired. Travel the world, have some fun while enjoying your pension. As of now, unfortunately your times aren't competitive at all to get on with majors. Going to a regionals will make you hate flying. Maybe when the retirements pick up, then your window will open along with many of us. Not an easy decision, best luck to you!

The bold part is part of the problem. Internet forums, while they can be somewhat helpful, should not be your biggest influence for making life changing decisions.

d5pilot said:
At what major would d5pilot be competitive at currently with what seems to be mainly a VFR single engine piston background and no ATP?

I think you should stick out the current job and secure the retirement and then look for any type of flying job after that fits whatever itch it is you have to fly other equipment/missions.

Sorry,
The forums are the largest cross section of people in the business available to the average non 121 pilot. Ask a DAL 777 Capt what he thinks about the industry, then the same question to a guy just off probation at a regional. The answers will be from different corners of universe. Decide which would be the most applicable to your potential positioning. Sorry to be negative, but even though I am nowhere near the bottom of the list, I fly every day with guys who are on reserve filling in for senior F/Os who are on vacation. The stories are remarkably similar to the stuff I experienced over the years.
For a guy who has a stable job, with a potentially close retirement to jump into the uncertainty of this industry, it's foolish unless he has "family money" or married rich. The years of angst slogging his way up multiple lists, while living in crash pads and commuting across the country isn't worth it at my pay scale, and at newhire scales even less so. Think about sleeping on an air mattress, in a sleeping bag on a living room floor with 10 other guys on your 50th birthday or Christmas, Easter, kids or parents birthdays. All for the opportunity to hand fly a 121 plane for the first 10 minutes and the last 5 minutes once or twice a day. But think of the opportunities you will experience while sitting in a TDY hotel in MKE for your 5 days of reserve, all the while not touching an airplane except for sitting in the back on a deadhead.
Sorry guys from this side of the curtain, coming to this flea circus is just a bad idea.

30K is living like a king in many places, add an odd 135 charter and life can be great fishing 20 days a month, and flying the occasional charter. If you can't make 30K work in the location of your choice my bet 60K won't work either.
Don't forget at a regional you will not be in the social security que, and the lousy 401k match means a huge gap in your retirement, hope you like cat food, and not Fancy Feast, it will be the WalMart house brand with Chinese melamine for a sidecar.

"I recently read that plastic tableware from China contained high levels of melamine. Can the melamine from these products get into foods and drinks?

The Taiwan Consumers' Foundation recently tested plastic tableware made in China and found that it contained melamine at a level of 20,000 parts per billion. This type of tableware is manufactured with a substance called melamine-formaldehyde resin. It forms molecular structures that are molded, with heat, to form the shape of the tableware. A small amount of the melamine used to make the tableware is "left over" from this chemical reaction and remains in the plastic. This left-over melamine can migrate very slowly out of the plastic into food that comes into contact with the tableware."