401K B Fund Contributions
 

There's a thread on the Major forum where many are posting their W2 earnings for all to see. While I believe posting such things is considered crass (I'm old school), there is one thing I noticed, some post their 401K contributions as "Company contributions."

Let's get one thing straight for UAL pilots, THE COMPANY IS NOT CONTRIBUTING ANYTHING!!!

Your 401K monies are a part of a negotiated pay package and are not given to you by the Company in any form or way. You earned them as part of your hourly pay package.

The dollars in your 401K are there because your ALPA Reps negotiated them for you and you earned them. It is not a gift!!!!

What an odd post.

Absolutely Correct.

It’s not odd. It’s worrisome how many pilots don’t understand our 401K contributions. The company “gives” us ZERO Dollars, that 16% is our money that we earned. Instead of it being a hard hourly rate it is a percentage put into a 401K.

Uh... I don't get it. It's not anti-union to say the company technically gives us everything we work for and have earned as far as W2 and pay stubs go. That we made these gains through hard fought negotiations via our union, lost a pension along the way etc is another issue.

They would gladly "give" you nothing. It isn't a charity, I happily exchange my time/expertise for money in various different forms. ALPA takes a minor percentage of that compensation as payment for their service and I have zero problems with that.

The company GIVES us nothing, we get what is negotiated.

There are limitations for personal and employer contributions. So, it's not some onerous misnomer, it's just what it's called. You contribute to your retirement, the company contributes.

IRS explanation.

Making that statement may not be anti-union but it's horribly inaccurate. I get that UCH corp controls the disbursement of the payroll, but "give"?

I'd argue that we collectively trade the market value of our airman certificate. As Grumble correctly pointed out, they'd gladly give you nothing, you know, cause of your love of flying and all that.

As far as posting W2 earning on a public forum, ....sheesh. Don't we hire someone in Herndon that make a complete powerpoint deck of that info?

Said another way; the company funds a required negotiated payment to the pilot defined contribution plan. After the IRS limits are reached, the company is still required to pay the required negotiated payment into other tax sheltered accounts, or pay as post tax income to the pilot.

I think some of you miss the point, while it’s called “Company Contribution” on our 401k reports, they is all “my” contributions some are just part of the contract and any amounts above that are done by my personal election.

Why do I point this out? Back in the day UAL attempted to claim certain retirement funds as their own. Yes these funds were the “overfunded” portion of the defined benefit account, but after a court battle it was made clear they were not UAL’s. And some may have already forgotten it wasn’t that long ago your 401k deposits were a substantially lower percent of hourly earnings.

The not so subtle message naming this “Company” make some think they are being blesssed some how by a benevolent corporate structure. Yes the job is a blessing, and it is restricted to a very few, but we earned those $$$ as much as we earned any amounts we choose to deposit above the contracted earnings.

Essentially this is a contractually forced savings account and protects those who wouldn’t contribute if they had a choice.

Off my soap box. You all earned every dime in your 401k, and never forget it!