Study actuarial tables. Ask an insurance agent. Pilots will die quicker if they work to 65.

And why was the law changed? The FAA (Marion Blakey) became convinced that once foreign pilots over 60 flew into our airspace, the government would be subject to judicial scrutiny for age discrimination.

She conveniently forgot that ageism comes under the lowest form of Supreme Court scrutiny (i.e. only needs a "rational basis"), that age limits are accepted in many other professions (firemen, police, etc...) and that this would impact airline safety and she should at least do some quick and dirty safety impact studies.

Then you had the specter of the former Fedex MEC chair flying to Washington and single-handedly getting the over-60 FE's (those over 60 the day the rule changed) back to the front seats. Nobody wanted this - the other airlines, the FAA, the other MEC members. I'm sure a number of your furloughs were caused by him personally.

By the way, a week from today (June 14) is the halfway point for the 5 year period.....

No I have not.

As you know, politicians would never let a few facts get in the way of an agenda.

They also get to fly the banner of saving the airlines from a "pilot shortage".

The accounting makes it cheaper for the government.

You will spend 5 more years paying lots of different kinds of taxes. That increases the amount you have to draw to get your money back from the government in retirement. This part is certain.

Not to mention they worry most about current expenditures. They look at 1 to 2 year blocks of time. If they can delay you 3-5 years, they prevent an accounting crisis this year or the next. Then they get to pay you in dollars that are worth less due to inflation.

Then there's the fuzzy math on working to 65. Folks, by some stats, will die a few years earlier for every year they work past 60. I challenge anyone to show that we will, as a whole, get more payout from leaving at 65. In the end these things are always costed out. It's all about the money. They didn't care about a "shortage". That part was like WMD in Iraq. It was just an excuse to get support for the legislation.

BTW, All the smart players knew it was going to put downward pressure on pilot wages for newer and future jobs.

100% correct. :)

Shhhh! That's for the next managers golf outing!!

Anyone who thinks these guys are going to walk away from a job like this where they work perhaps two days a week for 10.5 or so months in the year just isn't paying attention.

Call them greedy all you like, they just don't care about your opinion, they do think the bashing is funny.:D

Do you have to have at least 22 years with UPS to get anything out of your A fund? Is it an all or nothing deal?

The "normal" retirement age for the A plan is sixty. If your retire and start to collect prior to age sixty you take a eight percent per year penalty . Example- retire at age fifty-five and you would lose forty percent of your retirement income. The maximum number of years you can have that pay a benefit is thirty, any time spent with the company beyond thirty years doesn't count. The longest anyone has is twenty two years because thats how long the airline has existed. Currently the benefit at twenty-two years of service would replace aprox. 25% of gross earnings minus survivors benefits.

deleted because 757pilot answered question

I see now. Thanks much.