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BRIEF OF OBJECTIONS TO THE PROPOSED ACT TO ESTABLISH A RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR AIR LINE PILOTS FROM LOCAL COUNCIL 42 - BRANIFF, AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION
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The Retirement Program which has been drafted for air line pilots is inadequate and undesirable. The pilots of Council #42 - Braniff, are not opposed to A retirement program, but are opposed to the program under consideration in its present form, for the following reasons:

(1)  We are opposed to participation in the Program being compulsory. Although this feature may be necessary to insure the financial stability of the Program, it makes it inflexible to individual desires and planning. Too many pilots have their retirement planned and partially paid. Too many others are not interested in the Program and would prefer to accumulate the investment capital.

(2) Part (a) and part (b) of Section 2 are too ambiguously stated. It should be stated clearly that a pilot may receive an annuity and income from an employer or any outside source, not an air carrier, concurrently. For example, a pilot who has ten years of service and is occupationally disabled should be permitted to receive an annuity of $200 per month and sell insurance for $250 per month in addition. An example such as this should be given to clarify this important provision of the Plan. 

(3) Some provision should be made to return the beginning pilot's contributions if he is severed from his employment voluntarily or involuntarily during his first ten years of participation in the Program. There are not sufficient benefits during the first ten years to justify the cost of the program. During this time, the pilot has no occupational disability protection, his complete disability protection is very limited, and yet the ten percent of his salary that he would ordinarily save is siphoned off with no return. 

(4) The computation of retroactive benefits, using the 1947 salary as a base year, gives too large an advantage to members with many years of service and too little to the younger men. There is no reason why a pilot who probably averaged $500 per month for fifteen years of service should receive credit for $1000 per month for fifteen years of service, and in addition, contribute nothing to pay for this retroactive credit. A more equitable base for the computation of retroactive credit for years of service could easily be found. 

(5) No one should be required to pay a Social Security tax and this tax in addition and then not be eligible to receive the "airline share" of Social Security benefits. Social Security is a considerable item in most people's insurance plan. This provision increases the cost of the ALPA Retirement Program by $30 per year with no compensating benefits. 

(6) There is no guarantee that ten percent deductions will cover the cost of this Program. The number of pilots participating may decrease with the introduction of larger and faster airplanes. Any flurry of