Financial Planning for Pilots and Airline Professionals
Let us help keep your financial plans on course.
Wealth Planning Built Around Your Aviation Career
Airline Benefits and Compensation
Retirement Readiness
Investment Management
Tax-Aware Planning
Insurance and Risk Management
Family, Estate, and Legacy Planning
Specialized Planning for Professionals at Leading Airlines
Every airline offers its own combination of compensation, benefits, retirement resources, and career considerations. Beacon Pointe has particular experience working with pilots, crew members, and families connected with American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Airlines—helping them bring these important financial elements together into a coordinated strategy.
American Airlines
We help American Airlines pilots and professionals understand how their compensation, company benefits, retirement resources, insurance needs, and career timeline fit within their broader financial lives. Together, we create a personalized strategy designed to evolve as their careers, families, and priorities change.
Your American Airlines, Inc. 401(k) Plan for Pilots is administered at Fidelity Institutional. The BrokerageLink account option allows for expanded investment options and management by Beacon Pointe.
American froze the defined benefit pension plan (“A Plan”) on November 1, 2012. The A Plan benefit is payable in a variety of options including single life annuity, joint and survivor annuity options, and guaranteed period options. Since the A Plan is irrevocable, it is crucial to make an informed decision on your A Plan election. Beacon Pointe analyzes A Plan options for each pilot’s unique situation goals. Contact us today for more information about our American Airlines financial planning for pilots.
Retirement Checklist
6 MONTHS OUT
- Distribution planning
- Update goals in your financial plan and review them with your advisor
- Ask your healthcare providers if they participate in Medicare
3 MONTHS OUT
- Sign up for Medicare and desired supplemental plans
- Submit paperwork for all applicable retirement benefits
1 MONTH AFTER
- Roll any reminaing PCRA and 401(k) money into corresponding IRAs
- Roll Profit-Sharing into IRA
- Update goals in your financial plan
- Submit changes in income to Medicare
Delta Airlines
A career with Delta Airlines can involve multiple financial considerations—from compensation and profit sharing to retirement contributions and other employer-provided benefits. We help Delta pilots and airline professionals understand how these resources fit alongside their investments, tax considerations, insurance needs, family priorities, and desired retirement timeline.
Whether you are building your career, accumulating wealth, or preparing for life beyond the airline, our team can help organize these moving pieces into a personalized financial strategy designed to evolve with you.
Key planning considerations may include:
- Reviewing available 401(k) contribution and investment options
- Incorporating profit sharing into cash-flow, investment, and tax-aware planning
- Evaluating Market Based Cash Balance Plan benefits when eligible
- Coordinating employer-provided benefits with outside investments and legacy retirement benefits
- Reviewing life, disability, and income-protection needs
- Preparing for retirement distributions, healthcare expenses, and future income needs
- Aligning estate and legacy planning with family priorities
Southwest Airlines
Our team works with Southwest Airlines professionals and their families to coordinate workplace benefits, investments, tax considerations, risk management, and long-term savings goals. The result is a more complete financial plan designed to support both life in aviation and the future beyond it.
Your Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan is administered at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. The PCRA brokerage account option allows for expanded investment options and management by Beacon Pointe.
Your Southwest Airlines Profit Sharing is administered by Empower. Once you are 59 1/2, you may roll your Profit Sharing over into an IRA through an in-service roll over. This IRA can be professionally managed by Beacon Pointe.
If eligible, your excess contributions will be redirected in up to three non-qualified plans: excess benefit plan, “Top Hat” plan, and 401(a)(17) plan. Beacon Pointe is also able to provide guidance on profit sharing plans.
Retirement Checklist
6 MONTHS OUT
- Distribution planning
- Update goals in your financial plan and review them with your advisor
- Ask your healthcare providers if they participate in Medicare
3 MONTHS OUT
- Sign up for Medicare and desired supplemental plans
- Submit paperwork for all applicable retirement benefits
1 MONTH AFTER
- Roll any remaining PCRA and 401(k) money into corresponding IRAs
- Roll Southwest Airlines Profit-Sharing into IRA
- Update goals in your financial plan
- Submit changes in income to Medicare
United Airlines
We help United Airlines professionals evaluate the financial decisions that arise throughout their careers—from building and protecting wealth to preparing for retirement and transitioning away from active service. Each strategy is tailored to the individual’s benefits, circumstances, family, and goals.
Your PRAP is administered at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. The PCRA brokerage account option allows for expanded investment options and management by Beacon Pointe.
In addition, Beacon Pointe can provide pilot financial planning on the funding and utilization of the HRA and RHA.
Legacy United
Your A Plan was a defined United Airlines retirement benefit plan terminated on December 30, 2004. The A Plan was assumed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation or PBGC and will be paid based on priority. PBGC allows you to choose from a selection of retirement annuity options. The normal retirement age of 60 was determined under the provisions of your plan in effect on its termination date.
Legacy CAL
Your A Plan is a defined benefit plan that was frozen on May 31, 2005. The GATT Rate has an inverse relationship with your lump sum. It is important to consider how your retirement date affects your lump sum regarding the GATT rate that will be applied.
Retirement Checklist
6 MONTHS OUT
- Distribution planning
- Update goals in your financial plan and review them with your advisor
- Ask your healthcare providers if they participate in Medicare
3 MONTHS OUT
- Sign up for Medicare and desired supplemental plans
- Submit paperwork for all applicable retirement benefits
- Elect PBGC benefit – Legacy UAL
1 MONTH AFTER
- Roll any reminaing PCRA/PRAP money into corresponding IRAs
- Roll A-Plan (lump sum) into IRA – Legacy CAL
- Update goals in your financial plan
- Submit changes in income to Medicare
Wherever your aviation career takes you, our team is here to help keep your financial plan moving in the right direction. Planning is always tailored to your individual circumstances, including your airline, position, career stage, eligible benefits, family needs, and vision for retirement.
Schedule a Complimentary Consultation
Whether you are building your career, approaching retirement, or already enjoying life beyond the airline, our team can help you create a financial plan designed around your priorities.
Important Disclosures: Fidelity Institutional® and National Financial Services LLC (together “Fidelity”) is an independent company, unaffiliated with Beacon Pointe Advisors (“Beacon Pointe”). Fidelity Investments is a service provider to Beacon Pointe. There is no form of legal partnership, agency affiliation, or similar relationship between your financial advisor and Fidelity, nor is such a relationship created or implied by the information herein. Fidelity Investments has not been involved with the preparation of the content supplied by Beacon Pointe and does not guarantee, or assume any responsibility for, its content. Fidelity Investments is a registered trademark of FMR LLC. Fidelity Institutional® provides clearing, custody, and other brokerage services through National Financial Services LLC or Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Members NYSE, SIPC.
These materials have been independently produced by Beacon Pointe. Beacon Pointe is independent of, and has no affiliation with Charles Schwab & Co., Inc or any of its affiliates (“Schwab”). Schwab is a registered broker-dealer and member SIPC. Schwab has not created, supplied, licensed, endorsed, or otherwise sanctioned those materials nor has Schwab independently verified any of the information in them. Beacon Pointe provides you with investment advice, while Schwab maintains custody of your assets in a brokerage account and will affect transactions for your account on your instructions.