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Northwest Airlines National Pension Plan

updated 04/29/2008 4:04 PM

April 29, 2008

IAM National Pension Plan representatives and District 143 Director Patty Bledsoe will be in Memphis May 6-8, 2008.

March 27, 2008

IAM National Pension Plan representatives began their road shows this week in DTW. Representatives were accompanied by General Chair Jerry Cross and Co-Directors/Benefits Patty Bledsoe and Clay Parraghi.

During the road shows, members have the opportunity to visit with the representatives and ask questions, view their plan, and gain a general understanding of the benefit plan. Additional road shows across the system will continue through the month of June. District 143 would advise anyone who has questions or concerns regarding our newly-ratified pension benefit attend any of these meetings.

For more information regarding the National Pension Plan station visit, please contact your assigned general chair or your respective grievance committee.

March 14, 2008

IAM National Pension Plan representatives have advised District 143 that they will kick-off their informational road shows in DTW on March 25-27, 2008. Additionally, plan representatives will be in MSP on April 14-17, 2008. Additional dates and stations will be announced as soon as possible.

As previously stated, District 143 recommends that anyone who may have questions or may need clarification regarding their pension benefit plan, attend these meetings. Meeting location and times will be announced by local representatives. Please be sure to ask your applicable grievance committee representatives for more information.

National Pension Fund Road Shows to Begin

Jenny Yee, Assistant Fund Director for the IAM National Pension Fund has advised District 143 that the National Pension Fund is ready to schedule road shows for the membership and has begun to schedule station visits.

The nature of the road shows is to familiarize the membership with their new pension plan that was ratified by the membership in the last round of negotiations. Additionally, the NPF will be available to answer the various questions that the membership may have regarding their defined pension benefit.
Once the NPF has finalized their travel plans, District 143 will forward the information to the membership for their participation throughout the system. It is highly recommended that everyone who is a participant in the plan attend these informational meetings so that they can get clarification to any outstanding questions or concerns. Please stay tuned for future information regarding time and dates.

Revised/Final Pension Plan Q&A

IAM National Pension Plan Q&A Now Available

The Company and the IAM have prepared a Q&A document that addresses the most commonly asked questions about the IAM National Pension Plan. Effective June 1, 2007, future pension benefits for IAM represented employees in the COFPS and ESSC agreements are provided through the IAM National Pension Plan. The Q&A document can be found on RADAR under Pay & Benefits, Pension Plans or here.

National Pension Plan Update
July 12, 2007

As previously reported by District 143, we continue to develop proper communications for the National Pension Plan. Over the past few weeks District 143 has received emails pertaining to our new pension plan for the ESSC & COFPS collective bargaining agreements; ultimately they are questions related the plan in itself.

District 143 continues to work with representatives from the National Pension Plan, as well as the Grand Lodge, to establish communications related to these various questions. Additionally, all parties involved continue to coordinate available dates so that we can establish applicable “town hall” meetings at station locations.

In the interim, District 143 has decided to put together a brief “Frequently Asked Questions” from some of the emails that District 143 has received. This piece of communication is merely a small update for our membership. The week of July 23, 2007 District 143 will meet and confer with the National Pension Plan representatives, and the Grand Lodge to finalize future communications. Below are a few of the most “Frequently Asked Questions”:

Q. What is the I.A.M. National Pension Plan?
A. It is a multiemployer, Taft-Hartley Defined Benefit Plan.

Q. How well funded is the National Pension Plan?
A. The Plan has $6.8 billion in assets and more importantly, the Plan has been well-funded for 45 years.

Q. What makes the National Pension Plan unique from employer-sponsored plans?
A. When the Plan has excess money, the Board of Trustees adopts benefit increases and Plan improvements that make qualifying for benefits easier.

Q. Will my years in the Northwest Airlines pension plan be counted in the National Pension Plan?
A. The employees’ years of vesting service under the Company’s defined benefit plan and 401(k) Plan will be recognized as vesting service in the National Pension Plan for eligibility for vesting and unreduced early retirement pensions at age 62 with 20 years of service and at any age with 30 years of service.

Q. Who do I contact if I have questions on the National Pension Plan?
A. Contact the National Pension Plan directly at 1-800-424-9608.

IAM members are the only Northwest Airlines employees who still earn pension benefits in a federally-guaranteed, secure pension plan. You join IAM members at US Airways, United Airlines and Aloha Airlines who have the distinction of being the only workers at those carriers who still have a defined benefit pension. All other NWA employees must rely solely on their ability to successfully invest their 401(k) plan to continue earning a retirement benefit and hope they don’t out live their savings. IAM members may still contribute to their 401(k) plan, but have the peace of mind that comes with knowing their IAM National Pension Plan benefit will be paid upon retirement for the rest of their lives.

Initial NPP Benefits (which could increase in subsequent contract negotiations):

IAM Job Classification	Pension Benefit
ESE, Lead ESE, Stock Clerk, Lead Stock Clerk, CSA, RSA, Clerical Level D, Operations Clerk, Commercial Agent and Print Shop Tech II	$36.94 per month X each year of future credited service under plan
Clerical Levels A,B, C, Skycap, Print Shop Tech, Print Shop Tech I, World Club Rep./Supervisor and QSA	$30.51 per month X each year of future credited service under plan
Clerical Level E, Aircraft Routing Controller, Agent Supervisor, Senior Control Agent, Super-Cargo and Print Shop Tech III	$39.93 per month X each year of future credited service under plan

Upon retirement, members who have already earned a vested benefit in the Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Contract Employees and earn a vested benefit in the IAM National Pension Plan will receive two checks, one from NWA and one from the NPP, each month.

For more than four decades, the NPP has provided generous benefits for its participants while remaining consistently well-funded. Some details about your new pension:

Nearly $8 billion in assets
Over 1,700 contributing employers
Over 71,000 retirees and beneficiaries
90,000 active participating members

The National Pension Plan has features not available in the frozen NWA plan, including …

Your vesting service in the NWA retirement plan is counted towards the 5-year vesting requirement of the National Pension Plan for normal retirement benefits, payable at age 65 as well as towards vesting requirements for enhanced early retirement benefits.
An unreduced retirement benefit available at any age after 30 years of service
An unreduced pension benefit at age 62, with 20 years of service

IAM members will be receiving information directly from the NPP, and additional plan facts are available at www.iamnpf.org.

All NWA employees were affected by the airline’s decision to freeze their pension plans. Only the IAM was able to negotiate a new replacement defined benefit pension plan for its members, providing a strong foundation on which to build your retirement security. This achievement was made possible because of the membership’s solidarity and the difficult decisions you made while the airline was in bankruptcy. Surviving bankruptcy with a guaranteed pension is a unique benefit of IAM membership; one other airline employees wish they had.

Update
July 6, 2007

On Tuesday, July 3, 2007 District 143 Representatives met with NWA representatives to formally sign off on the Standard Contract Language for the new pension plans for the ESSC & COFPS contracts, which took effect on June 1, 2007. We are in the process of completing a “Most Frequently Asked Questions” regarding the new plan for publication to the membership.

Additionally, we continue to work with the International and the National Pension Plan representatives to establish dates to conduct “town hall” meetings at various locations so that the membership may attend for clarification to any outstanding questions. Once dates have been established and agreed upon by all applicable parties, District 143 will announce the schedule.

IAM Members Start Earning Pension Benefits

As required by all IAM collective bargaining agreements, Northwest Airlines will begin making payments effective June 1, 2007 on your behalf into the IAM National Pension Plan (NPP). The IAM National Pension Plan is a defined benefit pension plan, which provides guaranteed monthly lifetime benefits to individuals working under an IAM contract.

Initial NPP Benefits (which could increase in subsequent contract negotiations):

IAM Job Classification	Pension Benefit
ESE, Lead ESE, Stock Clerk, Lead Stock Clerk, CSA, RSA, Clerical Level D, Operations Clerk, Commercial Agent and Print Shop Tech II.	$36.94 per month X each year of future credited service under plan
Clerical Levels A,B, C, Skycap, Print Shop Tech, Print Shop Tech I, World Club Rep./Supervisor and QSA	$30.51 per month X each year of future credited service under plan
Clerical Level E, Aircraft Routing Controller, Agent Supervisor, Senior Control Agent, Super-Cargo and Print Shop Tech III	$39.93 per month X each year of future credited service under plan

For more than four decades, the NPP has provided generous benefits for its participants while remaining consistently well-funded. Some details about your new pension:

Nearly $8 billion in assets
Over 1,700 contributing employers
Over 71,000 retirees and beneficiaries
90,000 active participating members

The National Pension Plan has features not available in the frozen NWA plan, including …

Your vesting service in the NWA retirement plan is counted towards the 5-year vesting requirement of the National Pension Plan for normal retirement benefits, payable at age 65 as well as towards vesting requirements for enhanced early retirement benefits.
An unreduced retirement benefit available at any age after 30 years of service
An unreduced pension benefit at age 62, with 20 years of service

IAM members will be receiving information directly from the NPP, and additional plan facts are available at www.iamnpf.org.

All NWA employees were affected by the airline’s decision to freeze their pension plans. Only the IAM was able to negotiate a new replacement defined benefit pension plan for its members, providing a strong foundation on which to build your retirement security. This achievement was made possible because of the membership’s solidarity and the difficult decisions you made while the airline was in bankruptcy. Surviving bankruptcy with a guaranteed pension is a unique benefit of IAM membership; one other airline employees wish they had.

IAM National Pension Plan

In accordance with IAM collective bargaining agreements, Northwest Airlines on June 1, 2007 will begin participation in our negotiated IAM National Pension Plan. For an update as to where the process is at, District 143 is pleased to report to the membership that we continue to work diligently towards final completion of all documents for membership communication.

A year ago we lobbied Capitol Hill and across the bargaining table to save our pensions. Against all odds, the IAM and Northwest Airlines reached an agreement that would preserve our old pension plan versus having them eliminated; additionally, our membership ultimately ratified an agreement that would protect a defined pension plan by entering into the National Pension Plan.

District 143 would like to advise the membership that much more detailed information will be available shortly. Information regarding the National Pension Plan, our monthly and hourly contributions, vesting information, contact information, and more will be forthcoming. As previously stated, National Pension Plan, the International, and District 143 continue to work on the final pieces of communications.

Once established, National Pension Plan representatives and District 143 representatives will begin “town hall meetings” and “road shows” to properly communicate the new pension. We appreciate your continued patience.