Insurance/Retirement Committee
RETIREMENT
The most important point to remember as you prepare for retirement is that you must be at least 55 years old to be considered a 'retiree' at NWA. If you are not age 55 or older, then you will be deemed a 'resignation', not a retirement. You also need to be age 55 in order to receive passes (except during certain Early Out programs). Another important fact to remember is that you have to have 23 years of benefit service to receive the Company subsidized medical insurance. In addition, you must have 27 years of benefit service to receive the 3% per year reduction under the age of 62. If you do not have 27 years of service, your pension will be reduced by 7% per year for every year under the age of 62. That means if you retire at age 55 without the 27 years of service, you will lose 49% of your accrued pension benefit! We want to make sure our members are fully prepared for retirement and to ensure that your receive the benefits that you deserve, so education is key.
To get an idea of what your individual retirement benefit and retiree costs might be, visit the NWA RADAR website. If you have questions, call the NWA Pension Benefit Department at 1-800-NWA-BENS to review or confirm your benefits. If you have questions after speaking with the Benefits Department, please feel free to call your Local AFA Officers.
Latest Insurance News
New NWA AFA FMLA Task Force
December 11, 2009 - Complaints of invasion of privacy and other problems continue to be reported to AFA, over the Delta Family Medical Leave processing. In the past our FML was handled in a fairly straightforward and non-invasive manner by NWA Central Administration. Now, we must learn to work with the outsourced company that Delta uses for Family Medical Leave. Your MEC has formed a FMLA Task Force, to work on issues and complaints that continue to be reported to AFA representatives. Please contact them at . For questions/problems related to On The Job Injuries, please contact your OJI Committee Chair and Vice Chair on the MEC OJI web page. Please review your rights under HIPAA and FMLA HERE. For a Long Term Disability Insurance FAQ, click HERE.
2010 Delta Benefits
MEC Hotline - Special Editions
Part 1: 2010Benefits1.pdf
Part 2: 2010Benefits2.pdf
Delta Changes Medical Plan Administrator - 2010
AFA has learned that Delta has chosen to leave Blue Cross/Blue Shield in 2010 and has selected United Health Care as our 2010 plan administrator. While we have experienced plan administrator changes in the past, we are fortunate that Section 29 - Insurance of our contract requires a minimum of a typical indemnity medical plan, outlines who and what is covered, and limits cost increases for both active employees and our retirees. Over the past couple of years Delta flight attendants lost their typical indemnity medical plan, and instead were given a choice of high deductible plans – an HRA or HSA. While the up-front payroll deductions for premiums for an HRA & HSA can be lower, the deductible and out-of-pocket costs of these types of plans can be onerous. For a comparison of current DL & NW medical plans, please click HERE. Following a vote for union representation, DL & NW flight attendants will negotiate our benefit choices, based upon our own priorities.
Pre-Merger Delta Flight Attendant Lawsuit Against Delta Air Lines For Pension Plan Amendment
On June 29, 2009, a single Delta flight attendant filed a class action lawsuit in US District Court (Northern District of Georgia) claiming violations of fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The lawsuit claims that the 8th amendment to the Delta Pension Plan, which was implemented by DAL on March 31, 2007, will reduce pension benefits by millions of dollars because of a change in the calculation of the Plan’s Social Security offset that affects some plan participants. You can read the DAL flight attendant’s claim against DAL HERE.
This case highlights several important points:
- The NWA Pension Plan does not have a Social Security Offset. Any action by DAL management to unilaterally change the Delta Pension Plan does not affect benefits under the NWA Pension Plan. As long as we have a contract, no change can be made to our pension plan without our consent.
- NWA flight attendants have a union to fight for us. We do not have to rely on one tenacious flight attendant to hire a lawyer to protect every flight attendant’s rights. Our dues provide us with a legal department and the means to hire outside experts when needed to assure that our rights are enforced and our benefits assured.
- Without a union, a legal voice at the bargaining table, we will be subject to “executive decisions” and will have no legal department to fight for us. Our right to negotiate better pension benefits will vanish and any chance to eliminate the Social Security offset in the Delta pension plan in the future will be lost.
- While ERISA secures benefits already accrued under a company’s retirement plan, it does nothing to help improve retiree benefits as the costs of retirement rise. That’s one huge advantage of maintaining a voice during future contract negotiations – having the right to negotiate benefits such as increased employer contributions to our Retirement Savings Plan (Section 30 – Retirement Plan Agreement) and continuation of and even improvements to retiree healthcare (Section 29 – Insurance).
These issues are critical to DAL and NWA flight attendants, many of whom retire before Medicare eligibility. Only a contract secures these benefits. IF YOU ARE NOT SITTING AT THE BARGAINING TABLE, YOU ARE ON THE MENU. - Submitted by Cheryl Magyar, Retired NWA DTW FA
2009 Early Out Participants - Cobra Subsidy Update
Pre-merger Delta and Northwest flight attendants participating in the 2009 Early Out/55 Point Programs may be eligible to receive a 65% tax-free government subsidy to their premiums under COBRA. The U.S. Department of Labor has ruled that they would consider employees who elected to participate in our voluntary programs eligible for the ARRA COBRA subsidy, as long as they also meet the other eligibility requirements. The subsidy can be provided retroactively for those who have already left the company under the 2009 voluntary program. According to the Northwest Benefits Department, they are working on letters to employees who have already left under the voluntary programs, who did not apply for the ARRA subsidy. They are currently processing and mailing letters to anyone who applied for the ARRA subsidy, but was previously denied.
Merger Benefit & Pension Information
NWA & DAL Medical Plan Comparison 2009
: DAL_NWA_Medical_Plans_Comparison_2009.pdf
NWA & DAL Pension Plan Information 2008
: DAL_NWA_Pension_Merger_Information.pdf 2008