Employees Married to Employees:When you become eligible, you and your spouse must each prefund Retiree Medical Benefit coverage as individuals (if
applicable). By prefunding separately, the death of your spouse, a divorce or the end of a Domestic Partner relationship would not jeopardize your individual Retiree Medical Benefit coverage.
If an employee is discharged for gross misconduct, he or she cannot be covered as a dependent of the retiree spouse.
Leaves of Absence: During a sick, maternity or injury-on-duty leave, prefunding contributions are waived, except if you are subject to the Age 50 and Over rule; then you must continue prefunding. When you return to work, your prefunding deductions resume at the applicable current rate that applied to you when they stopped, subject to any annual increases that have taken effect during your absence. You are not required to pay a re-enrollment fee.
During any other leave of absence (such as a personal or educational leave) you are responsible for continuing to make prefunding contributions. If you do not make contributions while on leave, prefunding contributions will accumulate and be collected from your paycheck(s) when you return to work. During an overage leave, you are required to continue to pay your prefunding contributions to maintain your eligibility for retiree medical benefits.
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The provisions marked by the box that says "New!" have changed since the last Employee Benefits Guide was produced. To review the previous version of the Guide, see the Archives section.
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Retiree Benefits
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Layoff: If you are subject to the Age 50 and Over rule when you are laid off, you must continue to prefund during a layoff to preserve your eligibility for Retiree Medical Benefits. For all other employees who participate in the prefunding program, except those subject to the Age 50 and Over rule (whether or not you have recall rights under collective bargaining agreements or any other agreement) — in the event of your separation resulting from layoff/reduction in force, you will receive a refund of your prefunding contributions (with associated investment experience) without the six-month for non-recall rights employees (or the five- or 10-year for recall rights employees) waiting period required before receiving the refund. If you are laid off and not subject to the Age 50 and Over rule, and then called back to work for American Airlines, Inc. within six months (for non-recall rights employees) or within the applicable five- or 10-year recall rights period (for recall rights employees) following your layoff date, you can resume participation in prefunding, as follows:
Retaining credit for the period during which you made prefunding contributions before the layoff (the time period during which you were laid off and not making prefunding
contributions will not count toward your 10 consecutive years of prefunding eligibility requirement);
Resuming prefunding contributions at the same rate you paid before the layoff (subject to any annual increases that have taken effect during the layoff), and
Not being required to pay the re-enrollment fee for re-entering the program;
HOWEVER….
You must repay into the program the exact amount of the prefunding refund you received from the program as a result of your layoff, repaid in full, in one lump sum, within 90 days of your return to work.
If you do not repay the prefunding refund in full within 90 days of your return to work, you lose all prior prefunding credit and must again meet the 10 consecutive years of prefunding
requirement.
Should you come back to work for American Airlines, Inc. after the end of the six-month period (for non-recall rights employees) or after the end of the applicable five or 10-year period (for recall rights employees), you must begin prefunding as a new employee, at the age-based rates in effect at that time. You will be required to satisfy the one-year waiting period for participant eligibility, and will be required to accumulate a new 10 years of prefunding.
If for any reason you are recalled and do not/cannot repay the full amount of your prefunding refund back into the program within 90 days of your return to work, but want to participate in prefunding, you will be required to satisfy the one-year waiting period for participant eligibility. If you do this, you will be required to accumulate another 10 continuous years of prefunding, as you will not receive credit for satisfaction of any prior prefunding requirement.
Retirement: When you retire and elect Retiree Standard Medical Option coverage, the value of your prefunding account is drawn down in equal monthly installments over the first 10 years of your retirement to help pay for your Retiree Standard Medical Option coverage.
A balance remains in your account until the tenth year, at which time the final installment is drawn down, bringing your account balance to zero. Please note, however, even though your account is completely withdrawn after the tenth year, you continue to receive Retiree Standard Medical Option benefits according to the RSM provisions and up to the limits specified in the RSM Option.
Retiree Benefits
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Forms & guides can be located in the eHR Center of Jetnet at https://www.jetnet.aa.com/jetnet/go/ssoehr.asp?TargetDoc=XML=20 The Benefits Service Center is available at https://www.jetnet.aa.com/jetnet/go/ssomercer.asp If you die during the first 10 years of your retirement and you have no surviving spouse, the remaining value of your prefunding contributions is distributed to the beneficiary of your Retiree Life Insurance.
When you retire and elect Retiree Value Plus Option coverage, the value of your prefunding contributions will be refunded to you, and you must pay ongoing monthly contributions for the Retiree Value Plus Option. If you later elect Retiree Standard Medical (RSM) Option, you must pay ongoing monthly contributions for RSM. Retiree Value Plus Option coverage terminates upon your reaching age 65. At that time, your coverage changes to RSM Option for age 65 and over participants, and you must pay ongoing monthly contributions for this coverage.
Disability: During the initial part of a disability (while you are receiving accrued sick pay and during the first year (12 months) of an unpaid sick or injury-on-duty leave of absence), the Company continues to pay its part toward the cost of your medical coverage for active employees, and you must pay your part of the cost, as well.
After one year (12 months) of an unpaid sick or injury-on-duty leave of absence, Company- provided health coverage (your selected Medical Benefit Option) ends. You may elect continuation of coverage through COBRA, or you may begin using your Retiree Standard Medical Option coverage if you:
Have at least 10 years of Company seniority, and
Are age 55 or over or become eligible for Social Security Disability Benefits before the end of your one-year sick leave, and
Have continuously prefunded for the 10 consecutive years immediately preceding retirement, or if you retire prior to January 1, 2012, and have prefunded continuously from the date you were first eligible to prefund the Retiree Medical Benefits until retirement. If you transferred from a workgroup that was eligible for the Retiree Medical Benefits but was not required to prefund, you must have prefunded continuously from the date you were first eligible to prefund until retirement.
Termination of Employment: If your employment terminates and you no longer work for any subsidiary of the Company before you become eligible to receive Retiree Medical Benefit coverage, you receive a refund of the value of your prefunding contributions as a severance payment. However, you do not receive the Company’s matching contributions. You receive payment approximately 10 – 12 weeks after the end of the calendar month during which your employment ends.
If you are later rehired by the Company, you are treated as a new employee for the purpose of prefunding and cannot revert to the prior prefunding rates, even if your Company seniority date is adjusted.
Age 50 and Over Rule: Employees age 50 and over who have at least 10 years of Company seniority at the time they terminate employment (and who qualify for the Age 50 – 55 Rule, as defined in the Employee Policy Guide) are eligible to continue participation in prefunding, as follows:
You have 15 or more years of Company seniority, BUT
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Retiree Benefits
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You want to remain eligible for Retiree Medical Benefit coverage, you must continue to prefund for the Retiree Medical Benefits until you have prefunded continuously for at least 10 years. You must continue prefunding until you retire even if you are laid off. At that time, you will be eligible to enter the Retiree Medical Benefits. If you stop prefunding before you reach a minimum of 10 years of continuous prefunding, you will receive a refund of the value of your prefunding contributions, and you are no longer eligible for Retiree Medical Benefit coverage.
Employees age 50 and over and less than age 56 must continue to prefund during any lay off, in order to maintain eligibility for retiree medical benefit coverage.
Transfer Rule Between Subsidiaries: If you meet the age and service requirements to be eligible for Retiree Medical Benefit coverage — age 55 or older with 10 years of Company seniority — but you have not prefunded continuously for a full 10 years due to inter-Company transfers, you may resume prefunding (at the rate you paid prior to your transfer) upon your transfer back to a participating subsidiary. (Example: If you began prefunding with a
participating subsidiary, then transferred to a subsidiary that does not participate in prefunding, then transferred back to a subsidiary that participates in prefunding, you are eligible to resume prefunding.) While the time you were employed with the non-participating subsidiary (and were not making prefunding contributions) does not count toward your 10-year continuous prefunding eligibility requirement, you do retain credit for the period you prefunded before your transfer to the non-participating subsidiary.
Transfer Rule Between American Airlines Workgroups: Effective May 1, 2003, the Officer, Management/Specialist and Support Staff workgroup no longer prefunded for their retiree medical coverage, and were required to pay ongoing monthly contributions during their retirement for their Retiree Medical Benefit. Effective January 1, 2011, the Agent,
Representative and Planner workgroup no longer prefunded for their retiree medical coverage, and were required to pay ongoing monthly contributions during their retirement for their Retiree Medical Benefit. If you were in a workgroup that prefunded and later transferred to an Officer, Management/Specialist and Support Staff or Agent, Representative and Planner workgroup (that no longer prefunded), you received a refund of all your prefunding contributions with associated investment experience. If you transfer back to a prefunding workgroup (TWU-represented or Flight Attendant workgroup), you may repay the entire prefunding refund amount, in one lump sum, within 90 days of your transfer back to a prefunding workgroup (TWU-represented or Flight Attendant workgroup). You may resume prefunding with no $250 re-enrollment fee and at the same table rates as you paid before you left the prefunding workgroup.
Death: If you prefund Retiree Medical Benefit coverage and die before becoming eligible to use the coverage, the value of your contributions is paid, as a death benefit, to the beneficiary you designated for your Employee Term Life Insurance. However, your beneficiary does not receive the Company’s matching contributions.
Termination of the Retiree Medical Benefit: If the Retiree Medical Benefit is terminated before you retire, you receive the value of your prefunding contributions.
Eligibility
You must meet the age and Company years of service requirements to be eligible for participation in Retiree Medical Benefits, regardless of whether you select the RSM Option, Retiree Value Plus Option (or the RHMO Option if you are a retiree residing in Puerto Rico). See the for eligibility requirements.
Retiree Benefits
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Forms & guides can be located in the eHR Center of Jetnet at https://www.jetnet.aa.com/jetnet/go/ssoehr.asp?TargetDoc=XML=20 The Benefits Service Center is available at https://www.jetnet.aa.com/jetnet/go/ssomercer.asp