- 

PBGC Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 

7 

urmr-u;wcv 1200 K Street, N.W.. Washington, D.C. 20005-4026 

August 11, 2003 

Re: Appeal 

Eastern Airlines, 

1 

Inc. Fixed Benefit Retirement Income 

Plan for Pilots (the "Plan") 

Dear 71 

The Appeals Board has considered your appeal of PBGC's 

determination of your benefit options. As explained below, the 

Board decided your appeal is untimely. Therefore, the Board will 

not decide how the issues you raised apply to you. Also, under the 

Settlement Agreement, PBGC will continue paying your current 

benefit, which is your Settlement Benefit temporarily reduced to 

repay your past overpayments. 

PBGC's Determination and Settlement Asreement 

PBGC'S ~ugust 28, 1998 determination offered you two options 

under an ALPA-PBGC Settlement Agreement: 

PBQC Benefit - "19.5936% of.PC5" Receive $1,605.86 per month 

with full rights to timely appeal PBGC's determination, or 

Settlement Benefit - "34% of PC5" Receive $1,670.55 .per month 

with limited rights to timely appeal. To receive the 

.Settlement Benefit, you may appeal only issues relating to 

your own factual circumstances. 

.PBGC explained you have been overpaid under both options, and that 

PBGC's regulations allow 45 days to appeal PBGC's determination. 

See Enclosure 1. 

Discussion 

Untimely-Filed Appeal 

Your February 8, 1999 appeal was not filed within the required 

45 days - your letter was dated more than 5 months after PBGC's 

August 28, 1998 determination. You stated you inadvertently 

returned to ~ttorneyan appeal he prepared instead of 

sending that appeal letter to PBGC. However, you did not indicate 

when you discovered this error.. Furthermore, the Appeals Board has 

still not received such a letter from either you or 

The Board concluded you have not presented a basis for m t e Board to 

review your untimely-filed appeal. See 29 Code of Federal 

Regulations 4003.5. 

PBGC Must Pay You the Settlement Benefit 

The Settlement Agreement requires PBGC to pay the larger 

Settlement Benefit unless: i) You file a timely appeal with PBGC's 
Appeals Board, or iil You challenge PBGC's determination in court. 

See Enclosure 2 section 2.4. As noted above, you have not filed a 

timely appeal, nor has any court action has been initiated on your 

behalf. Therefore, PBGC must pay you the' Settlement Benefit. 

Thus, PBGC is correctly paying you $1,503.50 per month ($1,670.55 - 

10% reduction for past overpayments). 

The $367.20 Per Month Age-65 Reduction You Questioned 

You questioned whether PBGC correctly determined your full 

Plan benefit includes a $3'67.20 per month reduction beginning at 

age 65. In deciding timely-filed appeals which were otherwise 

similar to yours, the Board applied rulings in a prior Appeals 

Board decision. In that decision, the Board rejected arguments 

disputing the $367.20 per month reduction beginning at age 65. See 

Enclosure 3. 

Decision 

Having applied PBGC's regulations and the Settlement Agreement 

to the facts in your case, the Board decided PBGC will continue 

paying your Settlement Benefit, temporarily reduced for your past 

overpaymepts. This letter concludes your administrative remedies 

with respect to PBGC's August 28, 1998 determination. We 

appreciate your patience while we carefully considered your appeal. 

Sincerely, 

A. A? 

William D. Ellis 

Appeals Board Member 

Enclosures: 

1) Copy of PBGC's August 28, 1998 determination (18 pages) 

2) Copy of the ALPA-PBGC Settlement Agreement (12 pages) 

3) Redacted copy of prior Appeals Board decision dated 

July 17, 2000 (5 pages, without Enclosures) 

cc: