DP3 Looking for Retired Delta Pilots who are Receiving ZERO benefits from the PBGC
January 20, 2010

First, this article applies only to pilot retirees who are not receiving any money from the PBGC.

Your DP3 trustees are still searching for a way to make more retired pilots eligible for the HCTC (Health Coverage Tax Credit - a subsidy available to help pay health insurance premiums for some PBGC participants.) Current regulations do not provide this benefit to retirees who are not receiving a check from the PBGC.

In an attempt to ascertain how many retired Delta pilots are in this situation, we are asking everyone who is not currently receiving a benefit from the PBGC to contact our Retirement Committee Chairman Tom Seever at tom.seever9@dp3.org, particularly if you were receiving a qualified benefit prior to the pension termination.

To see the information we need and how you can help, please continue reading the entire article...

DP3 Chairman's Update
January 19, 2010

On January 6, 2010, the DP3 Trustees held their monthly board meeting and discussed several important topics affecting retired Delta pilots. The minutes of that meeting are now posted on the DP3 website.

Other issues covered in the Chairman's Update include our announcement of the 2010 Dues ($100), a discussion of our partnership with the NRLN, an update on the DP3 VEBA effort, a new initiative by the DP3 board to make more retired pilots eligible for the HCTC, and an alert to the membership about an HCTC billing issue that may affect some of our members and their health insurance coverage.   Click here to read the full update...

Updated Important Alert for HCTC Participants
January 18, 2010

If you are receiving the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC), regardless of your insurance provider, you must notify the HCTC when there is an increase in your premium. The HCTC will continue sending the old premium payment, and you could lose your insurance coverage if the new premium is not fully paid.

Delta increased the HCTC eligible COBRA premium effective January 1, 2010. If you did not inform the HCTC of the increase, you are at risk of losing your DAL COBRA coverage. You must act now to ensure your DAL COBRA premium is fully paid by January 31, 2010.

Please note that this does not apply to you if you are receiving Medicare; it does not apply to you if you are receiving Tricare; it does not apply to you if you are not already receiving HCTC assistance; and it does not apply to you if you claim the annual HCTC credit on your tax return. Additionally, please remember that DP3 does not have access to your Delta Insurance Billing records. The statement later in this article "our records show that you have a balance of $89.48" is provided only as an example similar to what would you might see when you check your account at Delta Benefits Direct if your account has a balance due.

Continue reading about action steps you need to take before January 31, 2010...

Chairman's Update
December 23, 2009

Your DP3 board members recently held their monthly trustee meeting at the offices of our Atlanta law firm, Miller and Martin. Attending this meeting in addition to the DP3 trustees and our attorney, Dean Booth, were Tony Shelley and his associate Tim O'Toole from the Miller and Chevalier law firm in Washington D.C. DP3 recently augmented our current legal team with this firm that is currently representing the retired USAIR pilots in their litigation against the PBGC. The minutes of the meeting are now posted.

Former ALPA communications specialist Karen Miller also addressed the board during our meeting and presented a communications strategy for 2010. One area that continues to cause us difficulty in communicating to the retired pilots is the fact that we only have contact information for approximately half of the group. We are currently looking for solutions to this problem and following her presentation, the board decided to hire Karen as a communications advisor to DP3.

The Board members of DP3 wish you and your family a joyous Christmas season and a Happy New Year. As Board members we hear many of the difficult stories that have resulted from the bankruptcy actions taken by the company we worked so hard to make successful. It is our hope that in spite of any hardships we can all take a moment to reflect on the many blessings in our lives and enjoy this holiday season with our family and friends.

Will, Wendell, Bill, Roger, Bill, George, Bud, Jeff, and Tom

Chairman's Update
November 21, 2009

Most of you already know that Delta abruptly cancelled the "onetime" COBRA offer made during this year's open enrollment period. The cancelled program was offered to those retired pilots who were excluded from the original Lifetime COBRA option made during the company's bankruptcy (a program that is still in effect). After receiving word of the new COBRA program's cancellation in the midst of open enrollment, I wrote a letter to Richard Anderson asking him to extend the benefit enrollment period and change the default option for those retired pilots who had initially selected the cancelled program and did not update their selection after the "onetime" COBRA program's cancellation.

I am sorry to report that Delta did not respond to my letter, nor to several phone calls I made in the days leading up to the open enrollment deadline. Hopefully those of you who had selected the cancelled program received additional communications from Delta thoroughly explaining your new enrollment options and the consequences of not making another selection after the COBRA offer was rescinded.    Continue reading the full update...

DP3 Letter to Delta CEO Richard Anderson Regarding Cancelled COBRA Option
November 12, 2009

Many retired Delta pilots received the recent announcement of a one-time COBRA enrollment opportunity from Delta with a great deal of joy and appreciation. Hundreds of retired Delta pilots were not eligible for the previous COBRA enrollment opportunity in 2007 because they were either not yet age 60 and/or they were not previously enrolled in either the Delta Family Care Medical Plan (DFCMP) or the Delta Pilots Medical Plan (DPMP). In either case, these retirees were shut out of the primary method of capturing the Health Care Tax Credit (HCTC) offered by the IRS.

But it was with an equal degree of sadness to find out that the COBRA plan as offered by Delta for 2010 did not receive approval from the IRS for the HCTC. The offer of COBRA insurance was therefore withdrawn by Mr. Rob Kight in his letter of November 5, 2009...Read the rest of Chairman Buergey's letter here...

New PBGC Director Nominated
November 10, 2009

The Administration has announced that it has nominated Joshua Gotbaum as the new PBGC Director. For details, please see the Press Release by clicking the following link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts-11909.

Information on 2010 Medical Insurance Options and an Update on the DP3 VEBA
October 25, 2009

This is a reminder that the open enrollment period for Delta benefits opens for retirees on October 28 and closes on November 17. It is important to note that some of this year's default options have changed, so even if you plan to maintain your current selections, you should check the Delta Benefits Direct section of Delta Net to ensure that your choices are what best suits you and your family for the next year.

It is unlikely that our proposed VEBA will be established before the end of the year due to the cancellation of last month's scheduled bankruptcy court omnibus hearing date. The next court hearing date is not until November 17 which coincidently is also the last day of the open enrollment period for next year's Delta benefit selections. We are, however, thankful that Delta has decided to offer HCTC eligible COBRA coverage to our members--it is, and has been, the right thing to do for those who have been excluded from Lifetime COBRA.    Read the full details here...

Fact Sheet About the HCTC and the new Delta Cobra Option
October 19, 2009

As you probably know Delta has just announced they will have a one time opportunity for those retirees who were not eligible for COBRA under the 1114 bankruptcy agreement to enroll in an HCTC eligible lifetime COBRA program (see next article below.) If you are under 65 and receiving any payment from the PBGC, please review the following document that answers some HCTC questions:   HCTC Fact Sheet

DP3 Chairman's Update on Legislative, Legal, VEBA, and Membership Activities
October 14, 2009

To our Honor Roll members, thank you for your support, but we need more than your financial assistance!

In my last Chairman's Letter I mentioned that the DP3 trustees and several of our members had recently participated in a Fly-In sponsored by the NRLN in support of our combined legislative initiatives. These legislative proposals were crafted after several months of research and meetings with congressional staffers and lobbyists asking for their guidance on how we could best achieve our objectives.

Our proposals were developed after members of our Retirement Committee had reviewed scores of retirement worksheets submitted by DP3 members. Studying these PBGC calculations provided us with a better understanding of the various lookbacks currently imposed by the PBGC and the impact that those lookbacks have on our contractual retirement benefits, while our research into ERISA regulations convinced us that the PBGC was exceeding its legal authority in the manner it was imposing the lookbacks.

Currently the Federal Courts tend to give deference to federal agencies allowing them to interpret those regulations that govern their operations, and unfortunately the PBGC is currently using every gray area in ERISA regulations to shore up the agency's huge deficits at the expense of retirees whose benefits should be protected.

There are two ways to attack these PBGC procedures. One is through litigation, and the retired USAIR pilots are going this route as they have received their final benefit letters from the PBGC. The second method is to clarify the underlying PBGC regulations through a concerted legislative effort. Because we cannot legally sue the PBGC until our final benefit letters have been issued, the DP3 trustees have decided to pursue a legislative solution at this time.  continue reading...

New DP3 Healthcare Option
August 23, 2009

[from DP3 Chairman Will Buergey] DP3 is acutely aware that many members have suffered a loss of medical benefits as a result of the bankruptcy of Delta Air Lines. The post bankruptcy health care benefits we were left with were determined by Delta and the Pilot 1114 Committee - not by DP3.

Unfortunately the 1114 Committee was not able to protect many of our members, notably those who were under age 60 on January 1, 2007. Due to the age restriction imposed by Delta to qualify for the bankruptcy COBRA, many retired pilots were not eligible for the COBRA option, which was the only Delta sponsored plan eligible for the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC).

Over the past several months I have asked Delta several times to reconsider the decision that prevents retired pilots and their spouses from joining the COBRA eligibility list once they pass their sixtieth birthday. These efforts have been futile, but I recently discussed this issue with an attorney who is familiar with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The ARRA not only increased the HCTC contribution from 65% to 80% until the end of 2010, but also provided an accelerated methodology for the creation of a Voluntary Employee Benefit Association (VEBA) that can offer HCTC eligible healthcare insurance to its members. continue reading...

The Social Security Offset
June 20, 2009

As our retired pilot population ages, many of us are going to be affected by the Social Security offset of the PWA. Referencing page 9 of the July 2005 Delta MEC Retirement and Insurance Handbook: "Social Security Offset - Applies at the earlier of the date of your Social Security benefits or age 65. If you were on the DAL, WAL, or Pan Am seniority lists before February 9, 1982, your monthly offset is $94 at age 62 or $117 at age 65. Otherwise, your offset equals $259 monthly (at age 62) prorated for service less than 25 years. If you receive the Minimum Benefit, no offset applies."

Many of you have asked: what does all this mean? For a discussion and examples of the offset, read this briefing prepared by Trustee Bill Caiazza.

NRLN Task Force Working to Reform Bankruptcy and PBGC Rules
May 13, 2009

[From Bill Kadereit, NRLN President] In February, I sent letters to President Obama and the Senate Judiciary committee members to advocate the need for legislation to reform bankruptcy laws to better protect retirees' pensions and benefits in bankruptcy court proceedings. My letters were followed up with an NRLN Action Alert that saw Grassroots Network members email nearly 7,000 letters to Washington on this issue. In March, the NRLN presented to a Congressional staff member a white paper prepared by the Delta Pilots retiree organization on the need to reform bankruptcy laws and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) rules. Now, the NRLN is taking an additional step forward with the creation of a Task Force to not only address needed changes in bankruptcy laws but also in rules applied by the PBGC when it takes over a defined benefits pension plan. continue reading...

Synopsis of the Soaring Eagles Court Case against the PBGC
March 29, 2009

We have asked our attorneys at Miller and Martin to prepare a layman's explanation of the recent court decision in the Soaring Eagles case against the PBGC. For those not following closely, Soaring Eagles is the DP3 counterpart on the USAir property – the retired pilots of USAirways. They have already received their final benefit determinations and exhausted the administrative objection process, and are now litigating 11 parts of their benefit determinations in federal court.

We want our membership to know that the DP3 trustees and our lawyers are following the USAir case closely. While their pilot working agreement (PWA) and retirement programs are significantly different from our own PWA and retirements, and the outcome of much of their litigation will not apply to our situation, there are some similarities which may establish some precedents that will either help or harm our own potential case against the PBGC if we ultimately end up challenging our own final benefits.

Mr. Booth has reminded us that "virtually no legal principal is as clear as it appears when lawyers explain it to someone. The law, if one reads the several opinions in the Chevron case, is certainly not as clear as I have articulated it."

We will try to provide regular updates to the Soaring Eagles case as developments warrant. Click here to read the synopsis...

Good News from the HCTC Program

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, new economic stimulus legislation, was recently approved by Congress and signed by the President. Included in this legislation is the Trade Adjustment Assistance Health Coverage Improvement Act, which changes some of the requirements for the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC). The new law, including the changes to the HCTC, expires on December 31, 2010.

A key change that is important to DP3 members is that the HCTC will pay a greater portion of your health insurance costs. The tax credit is increasing from 65% to 80% of qualified health insurance premiums. If you are a monthly HCTC participant, the 80% tax credit amount will be reflected on your HCTC invoice beginning in April 2009.

The changes will expire on December 31, 2010. For more information, call the HCTC at 1-866-628-HCTC (4282) or review the HCTC Latest News Page on the IRS.GOV web site.

Rumors, Questions, and Doubts

Recently we have seen a surge in rumors, apparently spurred by the widely publicized denial of the Soaring Eagle’s request for preliminary injunction.  The misinformation that is taking on a life of its own is not in the best interest of the retirees.  The following is an effort to bring facts into the discussion: continue reading...

Click here to review Home Page articles or recent documents which have been removed to archives.