Open Enrollment Season: What Pilots Should Be Looking for and Where ALPA Plans Fit in

Every fall, open enrollment arrives with a stack of benefit guides, plan comparisons, and deadlines. For many pilots, the easiest choice is to simply roll over last year's elections and move on, but open enrollment is one of the few opportunities each year to take a fresh look at your financial protection.

For ALPA members, it is also a good time to understand how your employer-sponsored benefits work alongside the supplemental plans available through ALPA—and where additional coverage may help fill important gaps.

4 Areas to Consider During Open Enrollment

1. Disability Insurance: Read the Fine Print on Your LTD Plan

Long-term disability (LTD) coverage is typically one of the most valuable benefits an employer offers, but the details matter enormously for pilots.

During open enrollment, ask these questions about your employer’s LTD plan:

• How is disability defined? Many employer group plans use an “own occupation” definition for only the first 24 months before shifting to a broader “any occupation” standard. Under that broader definition, a pilot who can no longer fly may still be considered capable of performing other work—and could lose LTD benefits.
• Is there a monthly benefit cap? A plan that replaces 50 to 60% of income may sound strong, but if the benefit is capped at $10,000 or $15,000 per month, high-income pilots may find that their actual income replacement is significantly lower.
• Is the benefit taxable as income? If the employer’s LTD premium cost is imputed as income to the pilots, then the benefit itself will not be taxable. However, if the employer’s LTD premium cost is not imputed as income to the pilots, then the benefit will be taxable, further reducing the monthly amount that a disabled pilot will receive.
• Does the plan offset ALPA supplemental disability benefits? Some employer LTD plans reduce their benefit by amounts received from other disability sources. Understanding whether an offset applies is critical to determining your actual potential income replacement.

ALPA’s supplemental disability plan is designed specifically around the realities of your career. The plan’s “own occupation” disability standard is tied to your ability to perform covered flight duties and maintain the required FAA medical certification, rather than simply whether the pilot can perform another occupation.

No matter what stage you are in your career, understanding that distinction—and how the employer and ALPA plans work together—can be critical when evaluating your overall disability protection.

2. Life Insurance: Don’t Rely Solely on the Group Plan

Employer-sponsored life insurance is a common benefit, and it can be easy to assume the coverage is sufficient, particularly when it is provided at little or no cost. But employer-provided coverage may not be enough to meet your family’s long-term financial needs.

Consider what your family would need to replace your income, pay off a mortgage, fund education, cover other debts and expenses, and maintain their financial security.

During open enrollment, ask:

• What is my employer’s base coverage amount?
• How much supplemental group life insurance is available, and what does it cost?
• Is the coverage portable? Employer-sponsored group life insurance is generally tied to employment. If you change carriers, leave the company, or retire, your coverage may not continue under the same terms.

ALPA life insurance is designed to complement employer-sponsored coverage and provides portability, meaning the coverage can remain with you through employment changes, subject to the plan’s terms.

For pilots who may change carriers during their careers, that portability can be an important consideration when evaluating how much life insurance coverage you need and where that coverage should come from.

3. Critical Illness: The Gap Between Health Insurance and Financial Security

Health insurance pays your medical providers. LTD replaces a portion of your income after an elimination period. Critical illness insurance serves a different purpose: It can provide a lump-sum payment directly to you following the diagnosis of a covered condition, giving you flexibility in how the money is used.

That flexibility can matter when a serious diagnosis—such as cancer, a heart attack, or a stroke—creates expenses and financial pressures that may extend well beyond the medical bills covered by your health plan.

Depending on your circumstances, those expenses could include out-of-pocket medical costs, travel for specialized treatment, household expenses, or other financial obligations while you or a family member recovers.

During open enrollment, consider:

• Does my employer offer critical illness coverage?
• What benefit levels are available, and what do they cost?
• What conditions are covered?
• Are neurological conditions included?

ALPA’s critical illness plan covers a broad range of conditions, including cancer, heart attack, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and advanced dementia. The plan provides benefits of up to $30,000 for members and $15,000 for spouses and is guaranteed issue, meaning no medical underwriting is required to enroll.

4. Long-Term Care: A Planning Conversation Worth Having Early

If you are mid-career or approaching 50, long-term care (LTC) may not be something you think about every day. But it can be one of the most important financial planning conversations to have before you actually need care.

Long-term care refers to the extended assistance a person may need when they can no longer independently perform certain activities of daily living due to aging, illness, injury, or cognitive decline. Care can be provided at home, an assisted living facility, or a nursing home.

The financial implications can be significant. Long-term care expenses can quickly become substantial, and health insurance, Medicare, and disability insurance are not designed to cover the full cost of extended custodial care.

Why Mid-Career and Pilots Over 50 Should Start Thinking About LTC Now

• Insurability. Long-term care coverage is generally easier to obtain when you are younger and healthier. Waiting until later in life—or until a significant health event occurs—can result in higher premiums or make coverage harder to obtain.
• The cost of waiting. Premiums generally increase with age. Starting earlier can help you lock in lower rates and spread the cost of coverage over a longer period.
• Protecting retirement assets. For pilots who have spent decades building retirement savings, an extended care need later in life can significantly reduce those assets.
• Protecting your family. Without a plan, the responsibility for providing or coordinating care often falls on a spouse or the adult children—financially, logistically, and emotionally.

A Resource to Help You Explore Your Options

Consider your individual circumstances when thinking about long-term care planning. Through a partnership with ACSIA Partners, ALPA provides members with access to a dedicated portal offering caregiver guidance, educational resources, and a marketplace to explore long-term care solutions.

ALPA does not administer these programs and is not recommending any long-term care product or service in particular. Decisions regarding long-term care coverage are personal and made directly between you and ACSIA Partners.

The portal is a resource to help you begin the conversation, understand your options, and determine what may be appropriate for your individual circumstances.

Making the Most of Open Enrollment

Open enrollment should be more than a checkbox exercise. It is an annual opportunity to take a fresh look at your benefits and make sure they continue to provide the financial protection you and your family need.

For pilots, whose careers are uniquely connected to FAA medical eligibility and the physical demands of flying, understanding the differences between employer-sponsored benefits and supplemental coverage can be particularly important.

Take the time to review your employer’s plans, understand the limitations, identify potential gaps, and consider whether supplemental coverage through ALPA can help address them.

Contact ALPA Member Insurance

If you have questions about how ALPA’s supplemental plans may interact with your employer's benefits—or you would like to learn more about the long-term care portal—contact ALPA’s Member Insurance team at 888-359-2572, Option 3, Option 4, or e-mail Insurance@alpa.org.