This is not an attempt to improve on the excellent reamrks posted by most of you. But to supplement, and rock the boat: Many elements of the US Congress and many leaders in the White House, for decades, have had nearly total disregard for the working people of this country, giving corporations carte blanche, i.e. "let the free market operate...". To them, flightcrews only serve a function as very over-paid, semi-skilled labor. Let's perhaps reflect back upon what that ignoramous Senator John McCain (Arizona) claimed about airline pilots. I respect his guts and mental/physical stamina for attacking fiercely- defended enemy targets and then somehow surviving the tortuous Hanoi Hilton, but as for his remarks a few years ago about an industry of which he has little comprehension, he appeared to perfectly fit the common US airline corporate mold of "let's sneer, publicly criticize, somehow lie and deceive, steal from those pilots (aw, anybody can fly those planes...training, experience, whatever dude...), so that we can fatten our already over-bloated permanent pensions, which are guaranteed, no matter whether we set a bold example, show strong leadership, or not [Arbeit macht frei]"
. Never mind the fact that at many airlines relatively few have the opportunity to be widebody Captains at the highest salaries)...but this was part of the mantra "US free market", so often touted in our history books and present media. Maybe civilian pilots should expect nothing from the GOP. Except for some moderates, many are in the pockets of corporate lobby groups. PAC money? And they have recently lost lots of pilots who voted GOP for years.
If you don't have an upper mgmt. title by your name, then many (but not quite all) in the US airline industry consider your contracted retirement to be a spoil for the creditors or corporate goons (how over-priced are the jackals [attorneys] who administer the Chapter 11?; United has reportedly paid about $10,000,000 per month) when the company is in Chapter 11. See what can happen to your contracted retirement if a company is liquidated
But this makes one GIANT assumption.
That your upper mgmt, as stated before, was bound by a contract and FULLY funded the pensions-as another Ppruner stated. But the government did not require them to be fully funded, even a major fraction, and now, ironically, they can not be, in order to help the major airlines survive. And the airlines pay enormous amounts in government taxes and security fees. If your ticket costs $200, $50 can consist of federal government secrity fees and other taxes. The US Congress seems to have allowed banks, finance and credit card companies to create, over about six years, these wonderful new Chapter 11 laws, which make it much more difficult for an airline, or anyone else, to survive this process after October 17, thereby forcing many Chap. 11 filings before that date. Check out how many personal bankruptcies have been declared compared to this time last year! Let the US taxpayers bail out the PBGC. Among the three people who manage the PBGC, two of them ALSO run the ATSB-which loans airlines money at low rates. Is that a conflict of interest?
Incidentally, the US regional and many jet cargo airlines (i.e. 727, B-747...) airlines have no fund for you, none at all. You save out of those modest salaries-First Officers at the US minimum wage. Their company negotiators refuse to settle if any retirement contributions are to be put in by anybody except the employee/staff .
The western European countries often tax the heck out of staff and everyone else, but some allow a more secure retirement: but at least some governments take an ethical view (rarely found in the US government) of their dedicated career civilian employees.