NWA pilot pensions??

[ThisistheDream]

From what I remember, the NWA pilots had there pensions frozen, not eliminated. If the pilots at NWA that are reaching 60, decieded to retire at 60 and start collecting thier pensions vs. flying until 65 and making a little bit more money then what the pension would pay them to just stay home, wouldnt you think those pilots would rather retire, stay home and collect the pension vs. working for 5 more years?

 

[tomgoodman]

Weighing the risks

From what I remember, the NWA pilots had there pensions frozen, not eliminated. If the pilots at NWA that are reaching 60, decieded to retire at 60 and start collecting thier pensions vs. flying until 65 and making a little bit more money then what the pension would pay them to just stay home, wouldnt you think those pilots would rather retire, stay home and collect the pension vs. working for 5 more years?

If it's true that the pensions yield almost as much as continuing to work, another consideration would be: how safe are those pensions? If they are available as a lump sum or as an annuity in the pilot's own name (held by an outside financial institution), then yes, retirement would make a lot of sense. But many pilots may fear a repeat of what happened elsewhere: retire now and find your pension slashed next year, with no chance to come back except as a new-hire.