sailingfun

Did you not also get a benefit from Florida? I know there is a offset for state disability payments.

Timbo

Nope. Florida wouldn't touch it. My case, Viral Meningitis, picked up on a Kuwait City layover, finally went to arbitration for a settlement I am not at liberty to talk about, but it was much less than making me whole. Basically it covered my out of pocket medical testing costs.

The company wouldn't call it an OJI, so Florida and even Morgan and Morgan wouldn't touch it either. No workman's comp, no nuttn'. Oh, and don't forget, as soon as you are on LTD, you get no passes and cannot jumpseat, even if you are trying to get to Oklahoma to meet with the FAA... Don't ask me how I know.

Luckily the CPO got me a PS ticket to get there and back.

Howgozit

Guys I will post more info on DPMA as soon as I can. The prorate table is gone and it pays on FAE.

Timbo

Why not just go to their web site and figure out your benefits for yourselves?

https://www.dpma.org/Default.aspx

I logged in and copied this from their website yesterday, if that is not correct, they should fix it asap:

From the DPMA web site:

How much is my benefit?
DPMA benefits are calculated using the current composite hourly rate (CHR) for your last assigned equipment x 80 hours. This gives you a “zero look back” (ZLB) value. Your ZLB value is then applied to the DPMA Benefit Table. Your DPMA disability benefit will be between 22%-42% of your ZLB value. To determine your payout amount, use the DPMA benefit calculator.

OceanCrosser

[QUOTE=
The one bright light was the gal at the DPMA who turned me on to Dr. Faulkner, who was able to get me back to work in only 9mo, vs. the 24mo. that the clowns at ALPA Aero Med said I'd have to wait to come back.[/QUOTE]

Hi Timbo,

Our experiences were very similar and we agree, the best thing is Tom Faulkner. He got me back way ahead of what Denver was proposing!

DPMA is a marginal safety net and NOT a replacement of income. It needs to be better but there are many who have never experienced it first hand or experienced a better product.

Fly safe,

OC

Alan Shore

So much for being "For the People"!!!

According to the R&I Handbook, you get the same passes as retirees. Not the case?

Timbo

Yeah, it might be an S3B, I can't recall exactly, but I had to fly to Tulsa to meet with an FAA type, on an RJ, and an S3B wasn't going to get me there. I called the CPO and they got me a PS round trip.

OC, I agree, the DPMA was never meant to be a replacement for all lost income, but as new hires we were told it would make us whole. Only true for new hires!

I was thankful I had signed up as a new hire and been enrolled for my entire career, because it is great to have when you need it, but as I noted above, the more years you have put in, the less % it pays you...seems backwards to me.

Howgozit

Timbo, the website is being re-designed and some of the content is not correct. This is directly from DPMA source document. You can download the most current version of Disability Hints from DPMA website (that part is up to date)

How much is my DPMA benefit?
The DPMA benefit, when added to Delta’s disability benefit, provides approximately 90% or more of a pilot’s average after-tax Final Average Earnings (FAE). Assumptions for the benefit calculation are established by the DPMA Board of Trustees.
FAE generally refers to the average of Flight pay, Flight Advance, Shared Rewards, and Profit Sharing. FAE data is provided by Delta and is also used by Delta to compute your TD and LTD benefits.
Note: DPMA contributions are made with after tax dollars; therefore, benefits are not taxable and the contributions are not tax-deductible. As a Voluntary Employee Benefit Association (VEBA) under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c) (9), DPMA does not issue an IRS W-2 or 1099 forms for disability benefit payments.

I have already received DPMA benefits – am I eligible to receive them again?
New and unrelated disability: If after receiving DPMA benefits and returning to active flight duty you become disabled again for a separate cause not directly related to and not resulting from the first disability, you are then eligible for DPMA benefits up to an additional 365 days for this separate disability not to exceed the 730 day lifetime maximum.

Recurrence of a disability - Less than two (2) years from your return to active flight duty: The maximum amount of DPMA disability benefits for any one disability is 365 days. Should you receive DPMA benefits for a period of less than 365 days, be medically released to return to active flight duty and within a period of two (2) years from your return to active flight duty become disabled again for the same condition, the two separate instances shall be regarded as one continuous disability. As such, you would be eligible for any remaining DPMA disability benefits up to the maximum of 365 days for that one disability. If you already received 365 days of DPMA benefits in the first disability period, no further DPMA benefits would be available for this same disability.
If the recurrence of disability is more than two (2) years from return to active flight duty: If you become disabled, return to active pay status, and after two continuous years from your return to active status become disabled for the same condition, this condition will be considered a separate disability eligible for up to 365 days of benefits, not to exceed the 730 days maximum lifetime benefit.

This is for FNWA pilots with a bunch of sick time

TOP-UP DISABILITY BENEFITS FOR PRE-MERGER NWA PILOTS
If you are a Pre-Merger NWA Pilot eligible under the Plan and are enrolled in the voluntary Delta Pilots Mutual Aid (DPMA) program, you may also be eligible for an additional Top-Up Disability benefit from the Plan.
The Top-Up Disability does just that – tops up the amount of your disability benefit by as much as an additional 50%. You must still meet all of the other criteria for disability benefits under the Plan in order to qualify for the Top-Up Disability benefit. This is an additional amount of disability benefit, but is only paid if you are Disabled under the Plan. It is not paid independently of the Plan disability benefits.
Eligibility for Top-Up Disability Benefits
You are eligible for Top-Up Disability benefits if you meet all of the following requirements:
 You are approved for and are receiving TD or LTD benefits from the Plan,
 You elected DPMA membership when you were first eligible to do so and have maintained DPMA membership continuously,
 You remain Disabled after reaching the DPMA benefit duration guidelines, and
 Your NWA sick bank hours are greater than zero
NWA Sick Bank Hours
For purposes of determining your eligibility for Top-Up Disability benefits, your NWA sick bank hours must be above zero. Your NWA sick bank hours are equal to your Initial NWA Sick Bank minus each Delta sick leave credit hour you use after June 1, 2009; however, when your NWA sick bank hours are 1,200 or less, then only those Delta sick leave credit hours you use in excess of 60 hours a year are subtracted from your NWA sick bank hours. Also, during each month that you receive DPMA benefits or Top-Up Disability Benefits, 80 hours are subtracted from your NWA sick bank hours.
How to Calculate Your Top-Up Disability Benefit
Once you exhaust the DPMA benefits, if you have remaining NWA sick bank hours and meet all of the other eligibility requirements described above, you will receive monthly Top-Up Disability benefits in addition to your LTD benefits.
Your additional monthly Top-Up Disability benefit is equal to:
50% multiplied by [80 hours x composite hourly pay rate]
The composite hourly pay rate is the composite hourly rate of the position you held on your Event Date. If you did not hold a position on your Event Date, the composite hourly rate is the composite hourly rate in effect on your Event Date for the position you most recently held.

Timbo

Thanks for the info, sounds like the benefit is improved for us old farts!

I hope I never have to use it again, but I know I probably will sometime before I retire, glad it's getting better.

Now...if we could just get about 11 new hire F/A's on the Dubai trips and put the senior mamas on the 717!

OceanCrosser

Hi Timbo,

The NWA sick leave policy was indeed a true replacement for your income should you not be able to hold a First Class medical. (please... don't take this as it was "better when"). We have a good contract, a good company and a great opportunity to recapture losses incurred during bankruptcy negotiations.

DPMA was sold as the replacement for the old NWA sick leave policy, ergo... same pay. We both have found out it didn't hold true when we needed it the most. I still believe the focus is returning to good health!!

Regarding new hires.....While riding to the airport on the hotel van, we shared the ride with a new hire. What a pleasant experience!! Unfortunately we couldn't convince her to become one of fourteen to NRT!!

Fly safe,

OC