Did I miss it? Curious how many years of service to be vested for the full $130K annuity at FedEx?

YOS x 2% x FAE (Capped at 260k).

20 years = 40%, 25 years = 50% etc etc.

40% x 260k = 104k/yr. 50% x 300k = 150/k but only 260k is pensionable, so the net is 50% x 260= $130k.

Survivor benefit, etc also a factor...it is less than 130k by the time numbers settle.

Biggest issue of last contract was the 260k has not changed since the 1990s. FDX does not want to have to insure a 200-300k pension for every retiree due the the tremendous amount of capital they would have to pay into under current laws. Some in union wanted to discuss a freeze of current plan and raise the B fund. Others said absolutely not, and their side won and ordered no discussion. Not casting stones at either side--good arguments both ways. Nobody wants to be labeled as the group that "gave away the A fund..." At the same time, when you look at what it costs in overhead to keep an A fund, the experts say the its a 3 to 1 cost benefit...i.e...it cost 3 dollars to get an extra buck.

I have to believe at some point there will be a move by someone--company or union--to investigate a rebalance. I would not come to FedEx assuming the current pension will be the same in 20 years. I think there will be some good benefits if they do end up swapping it around, but it won't be the same method we use now. This is why I'd make the Delta verses Fedex decision considering quality of life, type of flying, upgrades and domiciles.... Compensation models will come and go, and probably leapfrog each other a few times along the way as to which one is "top". I wouldn't just make the decision based on a predicted total income at age 60/65 on an excel speadsheet. You better enjoy the ride.

That said, I have been at FedEx 14 years, am a captain in the Hong Kong FDA, and I'm having a freakin' ball. There are some great things about both companies. My advice (which I also passed on phone today) was same as what several wrote here--go ride a jumpseat or two, and check it out. Pick some good trips, and not so good ones, and discuss with the crews. We'll share the coffee and tell you the goods and others....

Good news is you aren't WRONG whatever you do, and I have rooms full of guys who would kill to be either place. Bring a good attitude wherever you go, and don't look back....

25 years of service and a high 5 earnings average of at least $260K. Otherwise it would be less, as does taking one of several survivor benefit options.

Thank you FXDX and Albie!

Sure, that's true if you plan on flying narrow bodies your entire career. Which, I'm guessing at least 80% of guys at DAL chase WB money and fly the NATS.

Compared to my friends at DAL, UAL, and AA I'm getting the same number of days off or slightly more but I tend to have bigger blocks off at Brown. Conflict bidding is also pretty significant; pretty easy to turn 2 weeks vacation into 1 month off even within the first year or two. But I still think night flying is a major consideration. Here's what I posted on the cargo version of this thread...

Though I'm relatively new to it, and perhaps the more seasoned guys could correct me if I'm wrong, but true night flying (9pm-6am) is a different lifestyle. It's not like you can do a week of hub turns and act as if nothing happened on your subsequent days off. On top of that, I've found most guys rarely get more than 5-6 hours sleep at the hotel following nightly hub turns and maybe an hour in the sleep rooms resulting in a constant state of mild tiredness. And with the lackluster contract you won't even necessarily be getting a significant premium pay for it all. You never know what's going to happen in the world and you could wind up being stuck doing night sort for a lot longer than anticipated. Like someone said earlier, if you have the ability, do Jumpseat for a week with someone doing night turns. It's an eye opener. For that reason alone I'd really consider Delta. I also know a ton of delta guys and JS all the time on them; most are pretty cool, never got that holier than thou vibe except from maybe a new guy once. They do seem to have a real focus on a safety first environment. Plus the travel bennies are awesome once you learn how to play the game and beats any medallion status if you and your family like to travel a lot. Last, you can drive to the NY base if you need or there all sorts of shuttles, trains, etc to move around the NE areas I that would work better for you IMO.

Good luck with your decision and congrats on the double offer. Jealous!!

A better retirement because the life expectancy is a lot lower.


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Unfortunately Delta has a history of screwing their retirees. Basically none of them are coming out very well.

My apologies to the FedEx guys for not including the B fund.

When you add it in, FedEx currently will give you about 13% more in retirement income than Delta (due to compounding growth, too many assumptions here to list - suffice it to say, your mileage WILL vary).

All that said, if you get $130k a year (or $10,833/month) 25 years from now, it'll be worth about 1/2 that when you turn 65. We're talking $65k a year in today's $.

Should you choose a job for the next 25 years based on this one metric? Nope. It's just information - nothing more.

Let me make this simple. As the great Yogi Berra said " If you come to a fork in the road, take it"