[QUOTE=Jetjok;2889701]However, I believe that if you select No Survivor Benefit, your spouse has to sign off on that selection.

That is absolutely correct. If that is the option you chose FedEx will send you a legal form that you AND your wife must sign and have notarized. You both acknowledge that when your pilot spouse dies FedEx is completely done with you. Oh and you can’t give a wink wink saying sure my wife is on board with this. Notarized legal document. Retiring 12-17-2019.

Is there a minimum retirement age to qualify for the pension?

Reading the contract there seemed to be... or does your pension just start when you turn 60 regardless of when you actually retired, assuming you have the 5 years of vesting?

You take a penalty for each year you retire before age 60. If you retire early enough, the penalty could erase the retirement.

The earliest you can retire is 55 with 5 years of vesting. You can start it at 55. 3% hit per year before age 60. If you have your high five and 20 years of service, at 55 the max retirement is ((20*2%)*$260000)*.85 or $88,400 w/o any joint survivorship. You can defer the start of pension payments to increase the benefit.

Better explanation in the Pilot Benefit Book.

There are benefits to deferring the pension. To include the elimination of the 3% Penalty if you retire prior to 60.

In addition to the increased Pension $$, delaying a year or two allows either withdrawing or converting Traditional IRA\401k $$'s at a lower tax rate.

Whether that's beneficial or not is certainly debatable.
Shoot, if you have enough cash built up, might even allow you to pull some capital gains out of a taxable account at the 0% tax rate.

What if one were to retire at 54.. or 40?

Reading the benefit handbook it appears that one could still defer the retirement payments until 60, but it isn't very clear.

Envy all you young guns and gents that are lining up their plans to retire. Retired 10 years a go to the day. Best job I ever had in the world. Afforded me seeing the world, spending holidays abroad with my family, paying for all my kids college (both my boys fly AA & WN) and a wonderful retirement. Just keep your head above all the chatter and see the long side of everything in life. Happy New Years to you Purple Warriors.

Happy birthday!

Wow, that's impressive. Sh*7 on a guy that's retired after putting in 30+ years as a FedEx Pilot and volunteered for numerous ALPA Committees. You're a champ calling for "Us as pilots to band together".

Also, no way in the world to tie that frivolous lawsuit to anything when Dyer was MEC Chairman with the retirement work that was done after the 2015 CBA was ratified.

Out of 4500ish pilots they could barely find 4 to put their name on it. Most sniffed it out for what it was...meritless, self-defeating, fantasy-land attempt at the expense of our dues dollars.:rolleyes:

I am curious also