APA Applauds U.S. Rep. Robert E. Andrews For Bill To Extend Special Pension Funding Rules

The APA, which represents the pilots of American Airlines, issued a statement Wednesday praising U.S. Representative Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ) for sponsoring the Airline Pension Fairness Act of 2012 (H.R. 5715), which calls for extending special pension funding rules for commercial airlines.

“We are pleased that Representative Andrews has taken this step on behalf of the hard-working men and women of our nation’s commercial airlines,” said APA President Captain Dave Bates (pictured). “Our industry has faced a series of unprecedented challenges during the past decade, which have in turn placed severe pressure on the retirement security of tens of thousands of airline employees.”

The Airline Pension Fairness Act of 2012 would amend the Pension Protection Act of 2006 by extending special funding rules for certain retirement plans maintained by commercial airlines. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 was designed to encourage carriers to continue honoring their pension obligations to employees. That legislation gave pension plan sponsors more time to make required pension contributions while making it more costly for them to terminate pension plans.

“We would like to thank Representative Andrews for taking this important step and we encourage Congress to promptly adopt the Airline Pension Fairness Act of 2012,” Bates said.

FMI: www.alliedpilots.org