Work & Life: Executives insulated from airline pension fears

[Bluebear]

One person who doesn't have to worry about the future of his Northwest Airlines pension is former CEO Richard Anderson. When Anderson left the company last year, he took his pension with him in the form of a check for $3,028,700.

Such lump-sum payments are not available to Northwest mechanics, pilots or other union workers at the airline, who receive one pension from the company.

Anderson's check covered three separate pensions that he received from Northwest: the regular pension plan, his excess pension plan and his supplemental executive retirement plan, or SERP as they're known in the business world.

This is not to pick on Anderson. Top executives at Northwest still have these three pensions, including new CEO Doug Steenland. This is not even to pick on Northwest. Executive pensions this size are standard across U.S. corporations.....

http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5554119.html