We expect rumors will begin to emanate...
#191
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2007
Posts: 334
#192
Such is the case with NoBrainAllDrool. He suffers from the same malady that allows us to get in those frustrating situations -- he lacks critical reading skills. He thinks he saw A and B plan when he read the Openers Document, and many union communications since then, but such references simply do not exist.
Let's take a look at some language, where it originated, and what it means.
"A" Plan is an airline industry term which we use to refer to the Defined Benefit portion of our retirement benefit. Formulas for determining the benefit vary from one airline to another, but they generally result in determining an amount of money which the retiree will receive from their former employer on a regular basis for the rest of their life.
"B" Plan is another airline industry term which we use to refer to the Defined Contribution portion of our retirement benefit. Again, formulas and schemes vary from one airline to another, but they generally result in a certain amount of money being contributed on a regular basis to a fund controlled by the pilot. The pilot is allowed to make choices in investing those funds, and spending those funds. Upon retirement, employer contributions are discontinued, and it is possible for the pilot to deplete the funds quickly, or to make them last for a long time, and funds remaining after the pilot's death pass to the pilot's estate.
We pilots like acronyms, so the terms "A" Plan and "B" Plan are often used interchangeably with "Defined Benefit" and "Defined Contribution", but they're not equivalent. Defined Benefit is an IRS term, and it includes a variety of retirement schemes, including our "A" Plan. Likewise, Defined Contribution is another IRS term, and it includes a variety of retirement schemes, including our "B" Plan.
Here's a twist you might not have seen coming. Read through Section 28 of our CBA (RETIREMENT (PENSION BENEFITS)) and you won't find "A" Plan or "B" Plan, and you won't find "Defined Benefit" or "Defined Contribution," except for a reference to expenses related to the Defined Contribution Plan. What you'll find in the CBA is "Pension Plan" and "Pilots' Money Purchase Pension Plan (PMPPP)." The former is a Defined Benefit Plan that we typically refer to as our "A" Plan, and the latter is a Defined Contribution Plan that we typically refer to as our "B" Plan.
Now, why does this look at the language matter? Well, it's because we get burned when we think the language says one thing when it actually means another. Precise language is our best weapon against such misunderstandings.
So, let's go back to NoBrain's assertion that the Union is fighting to improve our "A" Plan. That's not what the Openers document or any communications since have said. It says we'll improve the Defined Benefit portion of our retirement benefit. Remember, while all squares are rectangles, all rectangles are NOT squares. Likewise, all "A" Plans are Defined Benefit plans, yet all Defined Benefit Plans are not "A" Plans, and certainly not the Pension Plan in our current CBA. So, when the MEC and the Negotiating Committee say they want to improve our Defined Benefit, we really have no way of knowing exactly what they mean. For the past 5 years they have promoted nothing other than a Variable Benefit Plan, which they now proclaim to be a Defined Benefit Plan, so why should we think they mean anything other than a Variable Benefit Plan? Why should we think they want to improve our "A" Plan if they refuse to say so, or our CBA "Pension Plan" when they continue to hide their plan behind a fake wall of secrecy?
Nobody likes to be fooled by sleight of hand, especially when it's being done by their own union.
Oh, and you know what our "retirement specialist" does for a living? HINT: It requires an ATP.
.
#194
With the Variable Benefit Plan, it is not possible to determine the minimum amount of bread you will receive since it depends on how much you will work each year, and how many years you will work. Oh, and how well the stock market is doing the year you retire. It, umm, varies.
.
#195
While we're at it, what would you think about not having to renegotiate pay rates every friggin contract?
By the way, when MEC and Negotiating Committee Communications use the word "durable" in describing the Retirement Benefits they're seeking, that's what they mean -- they don't want to have to negotiate retirement benefits ever again. That's more code language for a variable benefit plan.
.
#196
The union has said clearly that their goal is to improve the retirement plan for ALL pilots. They aren’t saying what their plan is because they’ve also said that all options are on the table. They want to improve it by whatever means the company will improve it. If that’s improve the A plan then that’s what they’ll do. If it’s the PSPP that management agrees to then that’s what they’ll do. If it’s cash over cap, then that’s what they’ll do. They aren’t giving the members the formula because the goal is to improve the plan by any means possible. So far I don’t think they have exhausted all options 6 months into negotiations. They made a proposal which sounds like max IRS limit A plan to me and management countered with liquidating the A plan and adjusting the B plan. The two sides couldn’t be any further apart. The back and forth will continue and the NC will try to get us some improvements. Let’s wait and see what else is said publicly from the union as we progress in negotiation’s.
Everyone on here is arguing back and forth about hypotheticals and unknowns and doesn’t seem that most are reading union updates or listening to podcasts or pub calls. Let the NC do their job. I expect we will get more communication from the union if the vast gap in the two positions isn’t able to be closed. If and when we get a TA, read it and vote.
and I've not read nor heard anything that remotely resembles that. When they do, I will be their biggest cheerleader.
To be pedantic, we could in fact be further apart if we DID indeed ask for the IRS maximum. Also, we should not be satisfied with "some improvements." A 40% "A" Plan would constitute "some" improvements, but would fall far, far short of anything we should accept.
.
#197
Banned
Joined APC: Jun 2018
Posts: 1,838
Can you refer me to the "union update" or podcast or pub call that gave you that impression? I'll bet my next paycheck our Negotiating Committee did NOT ask for the "max IRS limit A plan,"
and I've not read nor heard anything that remotely resembles that. When they do, I will be their biggest cheerleader.
To be pedantic, we could in fact be further apart if we DID indeed ask for the IRS maximum. Also, we should not be satisfied with "some improvements." A 40% "A" Plan would constitute "some" improvements, but would fall far, far short of anything we should accept.
.
and I've not read nor heard anything that remotely resembles that. When they do, I will be their biggest cheerleader.
To be pedantic, we could in fact be further apart if we DID indeed ask for the IRS maximum. Also, we should not be satisfied with "some improvements." A 40% "A" Plan would constitute "some" improvements, but would fall far, far short of anything we should accept.
.
#198
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2015
Position: Fetal in the hub
Posts: 410
Bump
You want to know how we got here? Read through this thread and realize we've been in the dark and mislead. The secrecy wasn't about negotiating in public or any other such nonsense. It was because they all knew that it would not poll well enough and here we are.
Slow clap for all the supporters you should be so proud.
You want to know how we got here? Read through this thread and realize we've been in the dark and mislead. The secrecy wasn't about negotiating in public or any other such nonsense. It was because they all knew that it would not poll well enough and here we are.
Slow clap for all the supporters you should be so proud.
#199
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2019
Posts: 1,046
Bump
You want to know how we got here? Read through this thread and realize we've been in the dark and mislead. The secrecy wasn't about negotiating in public or any other such nonsense. It was because they all knew that it would not poll well enough and here we are.
Slow clap for all the supporters you should be so proud.
You want to know how we got here? Read through this thread and realize we've been in the dark and mislead. The secrecy wasn't about negotiating in public or any other such nonsense. It was because they all knew that it would not poll well enough and here we are.
Slow clap for all the supporters you should be so proud.
#200
Bump
You want to know how we got here? Read through this thread and realize we've been in the dark and mislead. The secrecy wasn't about negotiating in public or any other such nonsense. It was because they all knew that it would not poll well enough and here we are.
Slow clap for all the supporters you should be so proud.
You want to know how we got here? Read through this thread and realize we've been in the dark and mislead. The secrecy wasn't about negotiating in public or any other such nonsense. It was because they all knew that it would not poll well enough and here we are.
Slow clap for all the supporters you should be so proud.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post