That’s all fine but it has nothing to do with the employment I chose and the retirement that employment provides. All the things you do outside of your Delta employment has nothing to do with our PWA retirement. This is about THIS job.

 

Everyone can benefit from an optional plan.

Depending on when you were hired this is the second, third or maybe even fourth iteration of the retirement plan provided by your employer. My opinions are about how to create a retirement with the income provided by THIS chosen profession. An optional MBCBP plan is good for short term tactical use near retirement. A mandatory MBCBP plan erodes the long term value of earnings from THIS profession by making them unavailable for other investments outside of a market lagging return in the name of tax savings. Owning dividend paying stocks, limited partnership interests or real estate with income from THIS career is what I am advocating for.

 

I could be misunderstanding what you’re doing, but I don’t believe this is necessary any longer.
Roth In-Plan Conversions for

Company Contributions

Pilots should note the following recent amendment that was made to the Delta 401(k) Plan for pilots.



Effective January 1, 2022, pilots may elect to convert all or any portion of their Non-elective Company Contributions to the Roth In-PlanConversion (Employer) Account. The amounts held in the Roth In-Plan Conversion Account and the Roth In-Plan Conversion (Employer) Account will be treated as Roth contributions for purposes of the investment, distribution and withdrawal provisions of the Plan.



This change now permits Roth conversions of the Company 16% non-elective contributions (Company DC). Once converted to the Roth In-Plan Conversion (Employer) Account, these contributions will remain subject to the current plan restriction that Company Contributions cannot be withdrawn from the Plan while employed.



This new option will require a phone call to Fidelity (800-343-3548) to activate. You may only elect to convert current Company contribution balances. Since you are not able to make a forward-looking election for future contributions, action on the pilot’s behalf is not time critical. You can call multiple times to convert your balances.



What Does this Mean for Our Pilots?

Pilots can now elect to convert their pre-tax Company 401(k) contributions into after-tax Roth 401(k) dollars. For those pilots who want to lock in current tax rates on some or all their Company contributions, they can do so. Previously, pilots were limited on the amount they could convert to Roth through the 401(k) plan and now they can convert up to the 401(k) maximum allowed balances of $61,000 (for year 2022).



Please remember Roth conversions are a taxable event, accordingly, we encourage you to consult with a certified financial planner on your individual situation. As with all plan provisions, this amendment could be impacted by any changes implemented by Congress.



Your Retirement & Insurance Committee considers this a beneficial change as it allows for more options and flexibility for the Delta Pilots. If you have any questions or concerns, please submit a DART to the R&I Committee.

FAQs

Q. Am I able to convert pre-tax Company contribution funds already in my 401(K)account?

A. Yes.



Q. Can I set up a one-time, automatic Roth conversation for future Company contributions?

A. No, pilots must call Fidelity if they would like to convert any pre-tax Company contribution and that contribution must have already been made and deposited into your 401(K) account. Additionally, pilots must manually call Fidelityeach time they chose to make a conversion.



Q. How is the conversion to Roth taxed?
A. Roth-in-Plan-Conversions will be considered a taxable event as current-year income; these events will not be taxed under capital gains.

 

A Roth conversion now at your current income level would not be advisable. You’re making too much money for it to be beneficial. You’ll probably be better off keeping it in a tax sheltered account and pulling it out later when your income isn’t as high. Although it’s considered flexible, your tax implications now are probably higher than you realize. If you plan on doing this be advised it’ll greatly affect your tax bill if you convert more than a few thousand dollars.

The MBCBP helps everyone. Not just someone who’s about to retire. It shelters more income than we are allowed now from taxes. Many of you who don’t hit the IRS limits for tax sheltered 401k accounts now will soon be able to do that. Especially with a new contract and as you senior up into higher income levels you’ll need more shelters for your income. That’s all the MBCBP provides…. Additional shelter from taxes. So for those naysayers out there just riddle me how that’s bad and not beneficial for everyone. Especially for those who have longer for retirement?

 

Saying this over and over again doesn’t make it true.

If mandatory it will be bad because it will effectively end the mega back door roth. It will prevent you from placing your 401k excess in alternative, better options like real estate. It does not allow you to use the money to save for other non retirement savings goals like college. And if you want to waste the money on hookers and blow, that’s your choice and a mandatory mbcbp will prevent that too.

Also, no response to multiple people calling you out for claiming to have sacrificed out of your own pocket to save the UNAs?

 

Everything that’s been written says it’s not. So why the drama. As for the UNA’s, their COBRA was going to be covered by the group as well as other things that never came to be because of the Cares act.

You guys never got furloughed. Big difference between the two.

 

I agree with most of your post but you are incorrect one issue. Many of the guys approaching retirement now, say 60+, spent an additional 5 years as a gear yanking FO.
You are extrapolating today's quick upgrades back into the past. Back then it took many 17-20 years to upgrade, thus we are now entering a period in which some retirees spent the extra five years on the right side of the cockpit.

Again I repeat why all the angst on this issue? DAL Pilots voted not to fight the pension termination when 100% of Delta Pilots had a pension. If you think a provision that benefits a very small minority of the Pilot group at the expense of the majority will pass MEMRAT think again.

That said I don't think it helps when younger Pilots portray older Pilots as some monocled version of a cross between Thurston Howell the 3rd and the Monopoly game Banker, just as it doesn't help when older Pilots disparage younger Pilots as selfish millennials.

Scoop

 

I know that you UNA group has had a rough go of it. Laid off with full pay. Upgrades while on probation. DC plan at 16% for your whole career. Massive profit sharing to come if you weren’t here prior to Covid.

Now the very people who helped make most of that happen, through our union, are trying to help some of the list out that got their pensions slashed or taken away and furloughed for up to almost 6 years.

The very system that you will benefit from, have benefitted from and can look forward to benefit from is not up to your satisfaction because it wants to help the old guys who got the shaft. But all you can focus on is what happened to you as UNA’s (not perfect, was stressful, but worked out well-thanks Alpa and the pilot group for not caving and pushing very hard for the VEOP, on top of the great deal made for UNA’s who double dipped while we were on reduced ALV’s or RSV GAR) instead of looking at the total big picture and sacrifice made for all. I’d be willing to bet a big group of UNA’s made more during that timeframe due to double dipping. We couldn’t do that.

So now when Alpa is attempting to make a very big wrong a better right, some of you are selfish and can’t see it for what it is. You want yours and screw the older seniority. No matter what they gave up and fought hard for what you have now.

Some of you will never understand even if you get hit by the clue bat in the forehead. A lot was given up and we’ve been trying hard to get it back. We all doubled down during Covid, wrote our reps and supported the very good UNA plan and ensured the UNA crowd didn’t get hosed like we all had before.

 

There's a lot of us "newer pilots" that are solidly GenX.

 

Those same deadzoners however choose to provide a roughly equal retirement to junior pilots by heavily targeting the then new DC plan and plusing all pilots up to a minimum 205,000 FAE for note distribution. The company wanted a flat 9% DC. The calculations were also based on 9% going forward. The increase to 16% heavily favors those with the most time left.