You have control yes, but are you an Investment Expert?

No, you are a pilot, 'nuff said.

Here's what the experts are investing in.

Delta intends to acquire more shares of Aeroméxico | Delta News Hub

2 words, life-cycle fund... they aren't sexy but they mimic pension fund managers' balanced long term tapered returns ...Ron Popeil style, set it and forget it.

Alpas past interest in doing the 'hard' things regarding protecting pensions.... is exactly in sympathy with the dues revenue they derived from that source of income.

Zero.

We live in the here and now. Thousands of alpa pilots annuitized retirement is in the hands of an insolvent provider.

These same pilots are still now sending tens of millions in dues to alpa.......for which they are once again receiving exactly the same energy and effort in protecting their benefit.

Zero.

Because you see......alpa gets exactly the same level of revenue from the pbgc benefit as they did from the promised DB payments.

Zero.

Maybe the new DALPA is cracking down on flight pay loss...and they decided to strike DALPA over the issue?

Carl

We just need to get elected to congress.

Or get better at avoiding taxes...

The Deal ? Delta will try to fly under the IRS? radar#

Exactly. Even if we are successful in getting pay raises of 22-7-7, the actual 'winner' will be the IRS, as they take their 35% cut out of our pay.

If we are going to keep a DC plan, we need to start lobbying for a much higher tax free contribution level, so we can put more of that money into our retirement funding than into Uncle Sam's pockets.

A 'tax free' DC contribution of only $58K per year, for 10 years, is only $580K, plus or minus market gains/losses.

How long do you think you can live in retirement on $580K?

Yeah. Not long.

The IRS...... and of course alpa.

Tim the toothpaste is out of the tube. Have you heard of a single initiative by alpa to do as you suggest and advocate adjusting the 415c limits..... or for exemptions of the limit for those with terminated pension plans?

Didn't think so.

At this point the answers with any prospect of success in resolving your point will be found in extracting a fixed annuity or equivalent grants of non cash compensation......i.e. stock options.

Or....a week timeshare in one Ed's Florida condos maybe.

I'm sympathetic to what you're saying, but isn't it even worse - 415C @ $53k? Not sure what ten years is tied to. Whether you could divert $53k or $58k annually over a ten year period, you'd be in some pretty lousy investments to end up with only $530,000 or $580,000, respectively. Of course it's all at risk. But market history suggests principal plus returns should yield far more than the sum of your contributions.

Anyhow, the U.S. Government is not going to raise tax deferred contribution ceilings just for airline pilots, no matter how hard we lobby. Lump us in with the other "evil high wage earners" that Obama says should "pay just a little more" to fund all the slackers, and we are a very small portion of the U.S. wage earner base. And there is zero sympathy outside our elite demographic. I'd say we will be lucky if 415C limits are adjusted for cost of living.

We really need an innovative retirement enhancement. Something like an annuity or other non-wage compensation.

Where do you guys that are desperate for a DB plan, think pension funds are invested? In the stock and bond markets.

Anyone who thinks their pensions are immune to stock market fluctuations are incorrect. The only differences are that a manager charges exorbitant rates to manage pension fund money, and it can be taken from you. I'd much rather manage on my own or with an RIA(look it up), and not worry about the lawyers taking it in BK!