When confronted with the possibility of going into LTD awhile back, I had to talk to numerous folks (FDX and ALPA). I believe it was explained that the company LTD payments are taxable (since FDX pays the premium). Contrarily, ALPA LTD is non-taxable (since we pay the premium).

Underdog is correct in that if you are paying for your own LTD policy, when you start to receive benefits from it, generally you are not taxed. However, if you don't pay the premiums, as with the FedEx LTD plan, tax will be taken out of your benefit check each month.

Of course, the main difference between the FedEx LTD policy and the ALPA loss of license (LOL) policy is that the ALPA policy pays for up to a finite 48 months, while the FedEx policy can pay for years and years, depending on when one goes on LTD.

This from the ALPA web site: "This Loss of License coverage pays monthly benefits for loss of license due to covered physical or mental disabilities. Benefits commence 12 months after the date of disability and continue during disability for up to 48 months."

Sounds like our contract.

I actually thought long and hard about using that word "generally", and decided that if there was a one in ten thousand chance that for some obscure reason, one A-hole got taxed, I'd never hear the end of it. So I wimped out and used it. Realistically, if you pay for the policy yourself, you're not taxed. Period.

I don't believe the ALPA disability plan has a four year limit. I'm not sure about the loss of license.

You pay a set percentage of your check with the ALPA disability coverage. You have 2 options, collect one or two years after you are disabled. Obviously, the 1 year option is more expensive.

The ALPA plan is not taxed. They pay a flat 17% based on your highest consecutive 12 months in the past 3 years. Unlike the company plan, there is no cap at $260,000. So if your high 12 months was $400,000, you'd take in a tax free $68,000/year.

That's how it was explained to me. That sound right??

ALPA has a loss of license and we have a different one started by Harvy Watt. I think the ALPA one does have a yr limit but ours now adiministered buy ALPA does not.

"........The ALPA plan is not taxed. They pay a flat 17% based on your highest consecutive 12 months in the past 3 years."


I'm not sure, but I was led to believe that both the company and ALPA LTD did a one year "look-back" from the day you called in sick, to determine the amount. Not sure exactly what is considered pay. BLG is used, however, vacation buyback is not. Not sure about all the other pay categories. There is a cap on the ALPA amount, but I don't think anybody could possibly touch it.

It's the highest 12 consecutive months out of the past 36 months for the company plan.

All credit hours, including draft, volunteer, make up, intl override and Passover pay are used to determine your pay, as well as premiums for LCA, SCA, FPS etc. Also sick hours and vacation, excluding vacation buy back.

I think the ALPA plan uses a slightly different 12 months but should include the same pay.

Check out the pilot benefits book link on PFC and check ALPA.org for the specifics on the ALPA plan. I think they are both administered by different divisions of Aetna insurance.

That is true for two of the supplemental LOL policies that ALPA offers. Our FDX MEC LTD plan (which is the 17% plan being referred to) pays after either a 12 or 24 month delay until age 65.

Pretty sure golfandfly is correct.

Just a quick additional bit of information about the FedEx LTD: if one goes out on LTD, after they turn 60, the company will continue to pay for 5 years from the date the LTD started. So if you went out at, say, 62, you'd continue to receive checks for 5 years from the date you started LTD.