4.04.15 – (LAA/LUS) BOD Meeting, Equity Rollover to IRA Update, WINGS

April 4, 2015

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LAA / LUS
APFA Special Board of Directors Meeting
A Special Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting has been called for Sunday, April 5, 2015, at the Embassy Suites DFW South beginning at 9:00 a.m. As always, all members in good standing are welcome to attend open portions of the meeting.

LAA
Equity Distribution Rollover to IRA – Back to the Drawing Board – [email protected]
As we announced in December, Congress passed legislation that was intended to allow traditional IRA rollover treatment for a portion of an AA employee’s claim-based distribution of American equity received as part of American’s emergence from restructuring.

Congress intended that the law provide LAA employees with similar benefits provided to other airline employees in prior airline restructurings. However, there is a technical glitch in the legislation that inadvertently excludes most of the equity award payments received by LAA employees from rollover treatment eligibility. Clearly, this was not Congress’ intent. We have been working diligently to find an immediate resolution. However, despite these efforts, the IRS went ahead and issued guidance in accordance with the law as currently written which did not resolve the legislative glitch. This means that a resolution to this issue will likely require Congress to pass a “technical correction” to the legislation.

So, what does it mean for LAA employees? Under the law as it is currently written, qualifying payments are only eligible for rollover within 180 days of the date the payment was received. This means that nearly all of the equity payments to employees (including the Days 1, 30, 60, 90 and 120 distributions) that were received more than 180 days prior to the enactment of the law in December 2014 are not currently eligible for the rollover treatment.

There are a few more recent (and generally smaller) distributions that still qualify for rollover treatment under the law as it is written. If you have received a distribution that qualifies under the law as currently written, AA will send you a form with that information.

In the meantime, APFA will continue to work diligently with the IRS, as well as Congressional leadership to find a solution that allows rollover treatment for ALL of the qualifying payments our employees have received.

For additional information, visit the Equity Hub on JetNet > Pay & Benefits > Pay > Equity Hub, or check out the IRS Guidance at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-15-13.pdf.

LAA / LUS
The Wings Foundation – [email protected]
Wings is celebrating 25 years of Flight Attendants helping Flight Attendants. The Wings Foundation is a non-profit organization, formed & managed by American Airlines Flight Attendants. Volunteers administer support to AA Flight Attendants applying for assistance who are in critical need of financial help. Assistance may be available to those experiencing serious illness, injury or disability. It may also include those affected by a disaster or catastrophic event which ultimately causes a major financial hardship.

Watch Wings’ first ever video Welcome video here: https://youtu.be/vdqYQrNCGV0. To learn more about Wings, visit: www.wingsfoundation.com.

Leslie Mayo
APFA National Communications Chair