FoxHunter

As the value of the a plan falls and B plan balances and percentages grow how may will opt to retire at age 60 or even age 65. In time FAEs will grow. You have seen most pilots stick around until age 65 even though the had 25 YOS 10-15 years ago. They opted to stay when they could retire at 50% of their actual FAE. When the FAE are $400,000 but their pension benefit is $130,000 because of the $260,000 cap set 25 years ago the reason to stay flying only grows.

Opinion: Here Is A Three-Pronged Approach To Pilot Shortage | Commercial Aviation content from Aviation Week

Pilot shortage in Asia has airlines rethinking retirement age | IAPA

Multidimensional risk assessment versus age as criterion for retirement of airline pilots. - PubMed - NCBI

Nightflyer

Japan has already gone to one day shy of your 68th birthday.

In the US, 65 really means one day shy of 65.

So really Japan's age, if the article I read was correct, is really 68.

67 is coming to America, maybe even 70.

"The train has left the station."

Full pull

Fly till ya die!

MaydayMark

One of the better parts of this job was that you were required to retire at an early age and you had enough money to enjoy your retirement. For similar reasons Federal Law Enforcement and Air Traffic Controllers (do you want a 75 year old Air Traffic Controller?) are required to retire at 55! Now, thanks to a bunch of Senior Citizen pilots without anything better to do than hub-turn ALL NIGHT and have a cup of coffee with their buds we're all going to get to fly forever?

To all of you that think your mental processing capabilities don't decrease with age, I'm going to give you an opportunity to drive to the grocery store with my mother. She "thinks" she drives just fine! She says she doesn't give a sh*t what her doctors or the DMV says ... she's going to drive anyway!*?

- The most common form of Alzheimer's disease, accounting for about 90% of cases, and usually occurs after age 65.

- Early-onset Alzheimer's. This type happens to people who are younger than age 65. Often, they’re in their 40s or 50s when they’re diagnosed with the disease.

Increasing the "Regulated Age" again MUST be accompanied with "Brain Health" testing! I have a very good friend that's a 75 year old retired United Airlines Captain. He can no longer find his way to the Target 3 miles away and sometimes forgets about dinner appointments. I'm not sure he should be driving a car. Even he doesn't think he should be flying airplanes ...

Geez folks ... find a hobby that you enjoy. There are LOTS of them. Surely you can find one that's better than flying ALL NIGHT?

Nitefrater

Agree 100%. Just don't work 'till you die, and be smart enough to know the difference.

FDXAV8R

If we protect the value of our A plan, get a real pay raise and some QOL improvements FedEx pilots might actually be more inclined to retire and enjoy what they earned, rather than praying and lobbying for flying until death.

This concept could really provide some cost savings. FedEx management guys might want to submit this for an MBO bonus. FedEx prefers you keep flying, retire and then ideally die shortly thereafter. If the union could provide some kind of guarantee of death within some prerequisite time, say 24 months after retirement I'm sure FedEx would be willing to uncap the A plan.

Every additional year you work is one less year they have to payout any A plan payments. Every year you aren't alive is another year of cost savings too. The only part that costs them any money are the limited years in the middle. I'm sure they will continue to chip away at those too.

busdriver12

No doubt if the union could guarantee our imminent demise soon after retirement, there would be no complaint about increasing the A fund. However, the crew force might not be too pleased with that. But increasing pay and improving QOL will never encourage people to retire, quite the opposite.

urinmyseat

I demand that we go back to the table and increase the retirement bonus from $40k to $80k, if you promise to die no later than one year after retirement, or December 31...whichever comes first!

And let's throw in one more piece of melon, which is the max allowed.

FDXAV8R

I get it now since improving pay, benefits and QOL makes guys stay around and we can't guarantee their demise shortly after retirement, I guess our only option is to take a decade long contract extension full of concessions. Finally it all makes sense.

Viper446

Here's my look at the lack of retirement fix. I've been here since 1996, I'll have my 25yrs in when I'm 58 and I'll be 60 in 9yrs. I'm a WB Capt. I'm setting myself up to retire at 60. I've been maxing the 401K for as long as I could contribute. I'll probably have a full sick bank when I near retirement. But since there is no change to our retirement, why should I go before 60? The sick bank buyout doesn't make any sense to me or entice me. I can make more money by staying another 5 yrs, flying carryover, because I'll be senior enough to do it, and with a full sick bank, I'll hardly work the last 5 yrs. I'll have 36 days of vacation. If you are close to retirement, the buyout is great. But if you want a decent retirement, I think you are going to work your butt off your last years to get 500K or more in the bank and basically fund your own retirement

Here's a question I have and maybe someone here can help. You only get the lessor of 3 things, One was past last two years earnings over $520K, the sick bank and something else. My question is, if you have a full sick bank, $110K of that is roughly 300hrs X what ever the new Captain pay rate will be. If I have 686hrs when I retire, the company will only pay me for about 384 hrs of sick at new pay rates. So do I only need only 384hrs of sick to maximize the SLB payment or do I have to have a full sick back to get half?