IMPORTANT SURVIVOR information in many former
HL issues but INSURANCE section of High Life 340 and FINANCE section of 336 a
good resource to keep.
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D & S Trust News
D&S
DECREASES $260,000,000 in 2022 – Are Benefits Secure?
While I
Got More Information -- Some Questions Remain Blury
Editor: Mark
Sztanyo
I retired in 2005! And I’ve always wanted to believe, no matter how the roller coaster of Delta may go, that Delta Survivor benefits would be secure. I still want to be hopeful that, my wife of 50 years, would indeed receive the promised survivor benefits when I die, promised by our contract and provided by the D&S Trust.
Read the following to see what some research has revealed and my overall take of the situation.
The SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT
About a week ago,
Delta sent me a Summary Annual Report of the Disability & Survivorship Plan
(Trust). In this letter, printed very
clearly, are some numbers that sort of jumped off the page. “The value of the Plan assets, after subtracting Plan liabilities,
was $201,631,618 as of June 30, 2022, compared to $462,429,731 as of July 1,
2021. During the plan year the Plan
experienced a decrease in its net assets of $260,798,113.” Of course it is
now near the end of June 2023 and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize
at the rate of this drawdown there is likely not much left in the Plan. If you just assumed that, you would be
right. Currently the Plan is
un-funded. Since I would like these
benefits offered by Delta through this Plan to be available one day to my wife,
I needed to learn just what is going on?
REACHING OUT FOR HELP TO INTERPRET
My first
thought was about the mailing because it was just a summary and not the FULL
REPORT. So I called the ESC but they do
not distribute the full report which we are entitled to. They instead gave me the number of Delta
Pilot Assist 877-325-2359, and I called to get on the mail list for the Full
Report, which has not arrived yet.
Still at a
loss to explain the summary, I reached out to ALPA RI and PCN members highly
knowledgable about the Trust and these benefits. A few emails back and forth and then about 6
hours of phone calls on Tuesday the 27th and here is what I now can
share is my preliminary knowledge after hearing these briefings.
The ALPA Rep:
This is my
350th issue of the High Life.
The ALPA RI rep I talked with is coincidentally a Capt on the 350 (the
Airbus 350 that is). Very friendly,
very knowledgeable, and very optimistic.
As we began the back and forth I did not share his optimism, but as I
learned more of his view, I began to understand a little more his perspective. I asked if there was a printout of ALPA’s views
on this issue but he said no so the best I could hope for was a sharp mind to
remember what amounted to a jammed packed phone call with lots of
intricacy. Initially, I thought that
maybe he called like a politician and “whatever” he stated on a non-recorded phone line he could later
deny. But no, this rep was not playing
any games with me as I sensed he genuinely wanted me to know what is going on.
Below
are notes from random points made by the ALPA Rep during the phone call:
Several years ago DAL decided to draw the trust down and
only use it as the shell to distribute benefit liabilities. The Trust will remain as unfunded and simply
be the pass through during each year for benefit liabilities.
These liabilities were largely paid by DAL annual funding
anyway, but now without the Trusts having any of its own assets and growth,
these liabilities will be paid contractually by DAL out of operational revenues
through the Trust for distribution.
Payout Formulation:
Payout of benefits from the DnS has a fixed and variable
component. The variable component could
increase and was always formulated partially by the strength of assets in the
DnS Trust and since it will have no funding, ALPA is now negotiating another
formulation. The idea would be to calculate
a formula to make up for this loss of the old variable benefit formula. This negotiation is now in process and is not
over yet. I was told there will be published news when it is over. ALPA is shooting for a formulation that has
similar amounts to what has been the historic payout amounts and of course its
likely Delta is shooting at a formulation target somewhat lower.
Short
Q & A with ALPA Rep (my questions in
italics)
Why
your optimism on the plan’s demand not breaking the piggy bank? Disability liabilities for active pilots are
no longer for life but continue by DAL up to age 65 then are taken over by the govnmt. That, along with grandfathered disabled
passing off the rolls, is causing the drawdown in the size of the disability share
of (and overall payout) of the plan.
Can
this liability of Delta for disabled and survivors be a negotiation item? Technically, it always has been. Yes its negotiable, but in last few negotiations
(including the most recent) it was never on the table. The ALPA Rep felt it would be hard to place
on the table because of Delta’s long hands-off held position.
Are
NWA/DAL pilots paid out of the D&S liabilities? At first no, but now yes. So all disabled and
survivor liabilities will be paid essentially out of operational revenue
through the Trust.
During
a biz downturn, can Delta shed these benefits? Delta
is held by contract to cover these benefits.
Will
un funding the trust make it disappear AND why is Delta still using the Trust
for distribution? Well, not in the short term as DAL is using
it as a shell, for tax advantage to distribute benefit monies. Delta receives a
tax advantage from paying annual obligations passed though the shell of a D&S
Trust for distribution.
What
do other airlines do? The picture is so varied that there are few
similarities to our setup.
Now
that there is no “kitty” (asset balance in the Trust) for disability and
Survivor benefits, doesn’t this become a higher risk for pilots and their
families for loss of benefit? Not really.
The ALPA Rep painted a rosy picture of fully funded
pensions for all employees including ground pounders.
So many more questions to ask but only so much time to communicate. I thanked him for sharing his knowledge and
opinions, and for his openness and candor.
Overall, many of older pilots are skeptical that Delta is doing the
unfunding of the D&S trust for an actual company advantage. This is particularly true if the benefit
liabilities are going to be paid anyway.
Why not just pay the Trust ahead of time? The ALPA Rep didn’t share that view nor did
he believe that the company was scheming or playing the pilots on this issue. He communicated a confidence that while Delta
was changing the strategy to pay the benefits that they had no intention of
ever walking away from these obligations and will honor all benefits through
‘pay as you go’ method.
1.
BOTTOM
LINE
What are the overall views of the ALPA RI Rep I talked to about the situation? Well, I would say optimistic that Delta will not place either major benefit from the Trust on the negotiation table. They are in fact obligated by the contract to pay these benefits. So the ALPA Rep feels Delta will not turn their back on these two major benefits from the D&S Trust. AND that Delta will negotiate in good faith to create a formulation for the variable component of the benefits paid, since the contractual formulation based on Trust asset strength no longer exists. The ALPA Rep is optimistic that benefits will remain and be essentially paid out of operational revenues.
What I heard from one of our PCN
members who is a friend and an EXPERT in this area?
1.
D&S
Plan benefits should continue to be paid on a pay as you go basis. Amendments to the D&S Plan during
bankruptcy added Delta as a source of benefit payments. Section 10.5(a) of the
D&S Plan revised and restated in 2011 reads, "10.05 Source of
Benefit Payments: (a) Sources for benefit payments include
the Benefit Fund, any insurance policies owned by the Benefit Fund and
contributions made directly to the Plan by an Employing Company. Each
Employing Company is obligated to make contributions to the Plan in an amount
sufficient to allow the Plan to make all benefit payments." For clarification
"Employing Company" essentially means Delta Air Lines.
2. Although the
D&S Plan states that Delta has the right to amend or discontinue the
D&S Plan, the Pilot Working Agreement specifies that Delta has to obtain
ALPA's approval to amend, change, modify, or voluntarily discontinue the Plan.
It is unlikely that ALPA would agree to an amendment that altered existing
benefits. The Pilot Working Agreement extends until the parties are released
for self-help. The new contract signed in 2023 extends for four years. That
means that benefit payments should continue until at least 2027 and beyond that
date if the Pilot Working Agreement is extended. Of course, a future bankruptcy
could result in changes.
3. The lack of
assets in the D&S Trust impacts investment yields which determine future
changes in the variable portion of D&S Plan benefits. We have been
encouraging ALPA to focus on getting Delta to make contributions to the Trust
to resolve problems relating to the variable portion of the benefit. (ALPA is in negotiations with the company on
this very issue.)
4.
We are monitoring the situation and considering what
actions that we can take to improve the situation.
The “pay as
you go” plan by Delta for these benefits, is Delta’s plan and it should
continue without interruption, BUT funding the Trust properly is a BETTER
option that provides security for the beneficiaries and tax benefits for Delta.
The risk of a “pay as you go” plan is a downturn in revenues and income. A very significant downturn would threaten
the ability to pay benefits on time.
What is Mark’s take? “Steady as she goes,” skipper.
Is everything perfect? No……is it ever? I was encouraged by a member and friend, whom I respect, to not be overly sanguine. Well, I can assure all that I am not giddy and/or overly cheery about the situation. I would 100% prefer to dump this “pay as you go,” idea in favor of what we once had, a well funded Trust. There are many questions that arise from a strategy like this one Delta is employing. One prominent one is ‘How does this unfunding of the trust benefit Delta’…….if they are going to pay the benefit liabilities anyway? Or how about this one; does this approach of ‘paying as you go’ create more risk of for beneficiaries should there be a significant business downturn? And another question since the company has given the disabled over to the gvnt at age 65, what assurances can we have that our surviving spouses will receive life-time benefits and won’t be cut off? If you boil this last question down, the answer likely rests on a couple of things; DAL’s survivability as a corporation and DAL’s good will toward their people in protecting widow’s benefits.
But, the question at the moment for me is; is Delta weaseling out of its obligations? Are they trying to sunset the disability and survivor benefits? My preliminary answer is….. NO, there’s no tangible evidence of that. They have constantly reiterated to ALPA that they will honor these benefits. And so far the actual benefits regarding disability or survivor payments have not been on the negotiating table in any of the last several contracts. So as it stands, the 1972 created Disability & Survivorship Plan (Trust) still lives…….. just in a different form. The Trust will be un- funded and used by Delta for tax advantages and benefit distribution.
I will admit, when I looked at the numbers from the Annual Summary Report I was shocked and taken back. I knew Delta was drawing the Trust assets down but I was un-informed that they decided a few years back to carry virtually a zero balance in the trust. They plan on complying with obligations by paying out the benefits through this “pay as you go,” plan, with all funds coming out of operational revenues. Should we be worried, skeptical, angry? Well, your emotions are your own and your reactions are too. I get those who might argue….. why would Delta do this? If they are going to pay the benefits anyway, why would they not keep the Trust viable instead of opting to pay out of operating revenue?
I cannot answer that question satisfactory…. yet. So eyes wide open, we stay focused and alert.
Many of us have experienced a ‘moving of the cheese’ in our past. Many Delta pilot retirees certainly have felt the injury of the loss of our Defined Benefit pension. Is that happening again with Disability and Survivor benefits? While I cannot tell you what Delta (and their future leaders) and ALPA (and their future leaders), will do, I can verify that current intention is to protect and pay out these benefits. So, are they moving the cheese? No, the cheese is still being distributed. With that in mind;
What Is Mark’s Take? Until
we see evidence of nefarious actions
and an assault on actual benefit payouts, then steady as she
goes. Let’s all keep a close eye on the
company, ALPA and their actions. As for now, stay alert and keep a level head
as we confirm monthly benefits continue.
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Can someone help answer this for Capt Foster?
Mark,
I noticed a statement highlighted in red in
you article about Survivor Benefits (widows) stating that they are taxable. I
thought that Delta was still leaving that box on the 1099
"undetermined".
Has a change been announced?
Travis
Foster
State College, PA
Editor: I do not know the answer to this for
Capt Foster, but if one of you can help, will you please send in the answer and
I will publish it for all.
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Under this insurance section, I am, in this
issue re-printing a few helps for pilot survivors and families since we are
unfortunately losing so many of our pilot colleagues. Here at the PCN we have a website with s DL
Survivor Page which links to many many helpful sites and info.
I got the following email from Capt Tidwell
and it made me do some think about using my published online Survivor’s Page as
a Printable Link Checklist for your loved ones.
From:
Jim Tidwell
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2023 11:29 AM
To: mark.pcndir@gmail.com
Subject: retirement handbook
How can I get the hand book for retirement without having to print 100 pages ? The PCN website book, I want my wife to have a guide line and info if I am not around ?
Thank you jastidwell2@gmail.com
So highlighted below is the revised
Survivor’s Page that could be PRINTED as a brief list of helpful documents
should you Fly West.
1. PCN Delta Survivor Page of INFO and Links
NEW – PRINT this Updated couple of pages
for your survivor’s sake
as a LIST OF LINKS important after you have
Flown West: http://pcn.homestead.com/DLSurv.html
2. Delta produced Death Checklist for Survivors:
3. ALPA (DAL MEC) produced ‘worksheet’ that can be filled
out and stored for Survivors and Families.
This worksheet is located with the ALPA Ret & Insur Handbook in the
last section: http://pcn.homestead.com/files/Misc_Files/2022_ALPA_Ret-Insur-handbook.pdf
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