The company contributes a higher percentage than the employee.
It really is a very very good DC pension.
Not a DC pension to start with.
What someone was referring to was the pension payout is higher than the DC because the employee/employer pay into it more since there is no ITA limits. In fact if you look at the pension estimator (well you probably cant since they didnt give DB access to it) if you take the additional payments made through the MEPP plan vs. DC and you factor that additional payment into the DC plan (say into a separate investment vehicle) the difference between the 2 plans is near 0.
Lastly, everyone needs to stop saying that the DC plan has been fixed. It has been improved but is still nowhere near DB levels!
The big reason (which i can understand) why many DB plan members voted yes for this believing the plan is fixed (lots of DC members voted no to this) is because they know if there is any chance in getting the DB plan indexed before the DC members out number the DB plan, then the DC plan had to be addressed ASAP.
Just wait, 2020 will allow widebody rouge expansion for an indexed DB plan meanwhile MEPP plan is still a good 30-50% below the current DB levels.
Let me ask you, how do MEPP members ask for increased pension in the future? The plan is pretty much setup at its maximum now.You cant really negotiate increases since you are already at max. A serp? How do you go about a SERP if you are already contributing 7.5%? Did ACPA run the numbers of gaining a SERP in the future? Personally, I feel the DC plan may be smaller payout for the time being but has much higher potential for improvements in the future and not to mention that money is your forever.
Trust me when I say this, this is far from a fixed pension. It is just a step forward so we can justify DB increases 3 years from now.
just my 2 cents