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Mr. Dan Gerald Page 2 February 5, 1948

$200 a month because, under the conditions which you outlined, $200 is the minimum amount payable. If you flew until you were 47 and then quit, without being disqualified, you would be entitled to an annuity of $137.81, payable upon your retirement from whatever work you go into or after after 60. This assumes that you will have 10 years at $505 (your present pay being applicable to the service up to now) and $666/67 for 10 years and one month more, and that your average pay, for purposes of calculating the annuity, would be $586.17. If you were disqualified for your work as a pilot while you are still an active pilot, the $200 minimum will apply to you, of course, providing you have 10 years of service. 

(5) If you make application for your annuity within 60 days after you failed to pass your physical examination, the annuity would begin the day after you failed, if you were then off the payroll. If you had accrued leave, etc., coming to you, the annuity could begin the first day after you were off the air line payroll. 

(6) Assuming that the Air Line Retirement Act becomes effective on October 1, 1948, that you will receive $505 a month through September 15, 1952, and then get $8000 a year for another 10 years, your total tax would be $10,398.75. This is 10 percent of the total amount of your compensation for the 13 years/months between October 1, 1948 and September 15, 1962. It is possible that the Act can be supported for something less than 10 percent, perhaps 9 percent. The collection of data about pilots is about complete and we will have exact costs soon. It is highly unlikely, however, that the amount of your contributions for the support of the system, as now proposed, would be less than $9,350 under the assumptions which you have stated, and assuming that costs are divided 50-50 between pilots and the Companies. 

(7) If you fail your physical when you are 47, the amount of money which you will have received by 67, under the conditions stated, would be $48000. One of the products of our study of the pilots will be an indication of what the mortality among pilots is, apart from occupational hazards. I am certain that the average length of life after 47, of pilots who do not fly, will not be less than 25 years and quite likely will be closed to 30. That is to say, the average amount of money to be drawn by a pilot who retires a 47 on $200 a month will certainly not be less than $60,000 and may well be somewhere around $70,000. 

If you have any other questions of this character, I shall do my best to answer them. 

Sincerely yours,

Murray W. Latimer

CC: D. Behneke, C. Stiles,
M. Gitt, and A.F. Foster.