Any "Latest & Greatest" about Delta?
12-02-2011, 01:44 PM
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12-02-2011, 01:45 PM
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12-02-2011, 02:33 PM
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I think most guys that say they are leaving around 61/62 are wishful thinking. They are going to get to that point and realize that they are going to need some extra money for their retirement. College tuition has wiped them out and they are going to want to recover from that. They have decent seniority so they can build pretty easily.
I hear a lot of guys say 62. But I have my doubts. I hate to say it, but most guys probably just have nothing better to do. Of course this doesn't only apply to pilots, but that whole age group. The rare few actually will actual retire at 60 and go fishing, travel, and visit their grandchildren.
I hear a lot of guys say 62. But I have my doubts. I hate to say it, but most guys probably just have nothing better to do. Of course this doesn't only apply to pilots, but that whole age group. The rare few actually will actual retire at 60 and go fishing, travel, and visit their grandchildren.
12-02-2011, 02:43 PM
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Actually, what usually happens is the guys go out on Long Term Disability for the last few years before retirement (heart problems, no First Class med for a variety of reasons). For the first 18 months they are basically on full pay (Short Term disability and DPMA). After that, they are at 50% pay but the benefit of only paying normal premiums and even being able to save in the 401K (no match obviously) means that they are essentially retired without showing up as "Retired" until they reach 65. I have been told (by people in the Disability office) that most people on long term disability do not return to work.
12-02-2011, 02:43 PM
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Actually, I think the biggest thing that hits guys trying to go before 65 is the cost of health care (until 65 and medicare - another pyramid scheme that will go bust - topic for another thread). Our retiree medical care premiums are very expensive and private alternatives are even worse. While they may choose to fly less (semi-retirement) it still doesn't open up their slot. The other thing is with life expectancies continue to improve it's takes a lot of money to retire without a pension. If you want some idea what that means most planner say you can figure on a 4-5% withdrawal rate which means for senior Captains with an income of $200,000 plus they are going to need 4-5 MILLION in the bank if they want to keep their same lifestyle and stop working.
Historically we have also had a significant number of pilots lose their medicals which adds to the attrition rate. I know two pilots that are done flying after medical issues from Nov alone.
There has been a significant number of retirement prior to 65. The PERP program however pushed them all into one group. Most of those more the likely would have been early outs just not all in 5 months. A average of age 62 is still looking about right when you factor in medicals lost, Early retirement programs and normal early retirements.
12-02-2011, 02:50 PM
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Actually, what usually happens is the guys go out on Long Term Disability for the last few years before retirement (heart problems, no First Class med for a variety of reasons). For the first 18 months they are basically on full pay (Short Term disability and DPMA). After that, they are at 50% pay but the benefit of only paying normal premiums and even being able to save in the 401K (no match obviously) means that they are essentially retired without showing up as "Retired" until they reach 65.
12-02-2011, 02:52 PM
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Actually, what usually happens is the guys go out on Long Term Disability for the last few years before retirement (heart problems, no First Class med for a variety of reasons). For the first 18 months they are basically on full pay (Short Term disability and DPMA). After that, they are at 50% pay but the benefit of only paying normal premiums and even being able to save in the 401K (no match obviously) means that they are essentially retired without showing up as "Retired" until they reach 65. I have been told (by people in the Disability office) that most people on long term disability do not return to work.
12-02-2011, 02:53 PM
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After that, they are at 50% pay but the benefit of only paying normal premiums and even being able to save in the 401K (no match obviously) means that they are essentially retired without showing up as "Retired" until they reach 65. I have been told (by people in the Disability office) that most people on long term disability do not return to work.
My recollection is that when you are on long term disability Delta's defined contribution percentage actually doubles. It makes sense if you think about it...
When you are on long term disability your income from Delta (actually the Disability and Survivorship trust) is half of what it was and thus their retirement contribution would be halved as well. Using the assumption that one's retirement should not suffer from a disability event, Delta's contribution is doubled so that when you return to active service your retirement account will be essentially whole, and your ability to retire on time is not affected.
12-02-2011, 03:03 PM
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12-02-2011, 03:07 PM
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I apologize.
As someone who has driven the US BBQ tour of America (Memphis, KC City, Texas, and North Carolina) for a vacation, I assure you, what was served to us the day was conduct unbecoming.
I hope the CA never sees these posts. He was a nice guy and a good CA, but the obsession with Top Gun was a bit crazy and humorous to me.
Speaking of which, I really enjoy flying with old former military guys who haven't realized that they're no longer in the military. (extreme sarcasm) What happened in the shrink's office and how did these crazies make it through?
I once flew a 4-day trip with one of the initial cadre F-15C pilots. After learning that I was a low life tanker pilot, every comment or suggestion I made ended with "what would you know, you're a tanker pilot". No joke.
As someone who has driven the US BBQ tour of America (Memphis, KC City, Texas, and North Carolina) for a vacation, I assure you, what was served to us the day was conduct unbecoming.
I hope the CA never sees these posts. He was a nice guy and a good CA, but the obsession with Top Gun was a bit crazy and humorous to me.
Speaking of which, I really enjoy flying with old former military guys who haven't realized that they're no longer in the military. (extreme sarcasm) What happened in the shrink's office and how did these crazies make it through?
I once flew a 4-day trip with one of the initial cadre F-15C pilots. After learning that I was a low life tanker pilot, every comment or suggestion I made ended with "what would you know, you're a tanker pilot". No joke.
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