US Airways pilots' pensions in jeopardy ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) =97 US Airways will file to terminate its underfunded=20 pension plan with its pilots, a move the airline considers a last major=20 hurdle to emerging from bankruptcy by March 31. But the 6,000 pilots, who=20 have endured 1,800 furloughs and agreed to $565 million annually in=20 concessions to try to save the airline, say they are being unfairly singled= =20 out and will take legal action to stop the company from canceling the plan.= =20 "We've been doing our very best to help keep the company afloat," said Roy= =20 Freundlich, spokesman for the US Airways unit of the Air Line Pilots=20 Association. "But this is one letdown too many." A letter sent to pilots by US Airways Chief Executive David Siegel=20 indicates the airline will terminate the plan Thursday. Siegel said the=20 airline has no choice: If the issue is not resolved, the airline cannot=20 obtain the financing needed to avoid liquidation. "The risk of doing nothing creates greater uncertainty for you=20 individually, and for all of us collectively, with regard to our company's= =20 successful restructuring," Siegel wrote. When the airline terminates the=20 plan, it will be taken over by the federal Pension Benefits Guaranty=20 Corporation. That will severely cut the benefits paid to retired pilots. Most pilots will receive a pension no larger than $28,000 a year if the=20 PBGC takes over the plan, although some older pilots with seniority would=20 qualify for a higher payment, Freundlich said. Under the old plan, most=20 pilots would have received annual payments of $50,000 to $70,000 a year,=20 Freundlich said. The airline, though, says the average pilot receives a=20 $130,000 annual pension. US Airways will start a new retirement plan for=20 pilots when the old one is terminated, Siegel said. The new plan will be in= =20 addition to the PBGC pension pilots will receive. But that new plan will be= =20 a defined contribution plan as opposed to the old defined-benefits plan.=20 That means that older pilots will have little time to accumulate=20 significant savings, while junior pilots will have to hope that the stock=20 market performs well to obtain a sizable benefit. While many airlines have= =20 pension liabilities because of the industry's financial struggles and the=20 stock market's poor performance the last three years, US Airways is in a=20 unique situation because of its bankruptcy filing. While other airlines can wait to see if a better stock market will fix=20 their liabilities, US Airways must resolve the problem immediately so it=20 can obtain the financing needed to emerge from bankruptcy. Freundlich said= =20 the situation is unfair because the government essentially gets to buy the= =20 pension program during a dip in the stock market. If the stock market=20 improves, the government could actually make a profit, he said. The union=20 and the airline have lobbied for congressional legislation that would allow= =20 the company to continue the current plan, and pay down its unfunded=20 liability over 30 years. But the legislation has stalled, and the union=20 claims the company has not lobbied aggressively enough. "We feel they only= =20 put on a facade of commitment to that process," Freundlich said. The=20 company says it lobbied aggressively and continues to do so, hiring the=20 former lead lawyer at the PBGC to aid its effort.Pensions for the airline's= =20 other unions are not affected. The pilots' union says this is unfair, but=20 the company says the other, smaller pension plans cannot be terminated=20 under law because doing so would not achieve the savings necessary to=20 emerge from bankruptcy. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: www.pichemas.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************