DELTA FLIGHT ATTENDANT SPEAKS
ON SOCIAL SECURITY OFFSET
Says Anderson has no clue or is misleading

In order to change the social security offset, Delta would have to do two things:

1. Ask the IRS to revoke Delta's election of the Pension Protection Act

2. Fund the plan up to the levels that are acceptable to the IRS--which is a percentage of the benefits that will be paid in the future and are being paid currently.

Then Delta can reduce the social security offset or eliminate it entirely. Until it is funded properly, Delta can't do a thing. To fund it properly and fully as it should be is a choice that Delta executives alone make. They must put a certain amount in according to the Pension Protection Act. However, they were suppose to put a certain amount in (minimum funding) before and didn't.

The plan was first voluntarily frozen by the company to stop benefits from accruing under it. After the company (under Jerry Grinstein) went to Congress and encouraged unsuspecting employees to lobby on behalf of the company, the PPA was passed and Delta immediately sought protection under it. This set in motion the lie "that once it is elected, you can not change it." You can change it, you just have to put the money in it that should have been there in the first place and then ask the IRS to release you from your election. The IRS (with the PBGC's blessing) would never deny a revocation if it were properly funded. They would have no grounds to deny it if funded properly.

Of note here is the astounding discrepancy in the past numbers (benefit assumptions and funding). The numbers don't add up. However, I don't have the full expertise to analyze them, nor do I have full access to them. If we had a union, we would have or could hire experts and actuaries to make a full accounting.

Frankly, I think Richard Anderson either doesn't know exactly how the social security offset at Delta works (this is a long shot since he is an executive/lawyer) or he intentionally is misleading the worker who asked the question. This is more likely the case. In 12-18 months of waiting for him to "look" at it, then their window of opportunity for representation has closed. Also, note that Anderson only said to give them a chance to "look" at it--hardly worth getting your hope up for a change to it.