Aug. 16--Thousands of United Airlines retirees will receive bigger monthly pension checks after a self-review by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
The agency on Wednesday announced that in 2008, two years before United merged with Houston-based Continental Airlines, it had undervalued United's pension assets by "about three-fourths of 1 percent." A spokesman for the government agency said it took over four United pension plans in 2005.
Marc Hopkins said the undervaluation affected 8,000 of 46,000 retirees, none of them former Continental employees.
The largest average monthly increase, $33.68, will go to pilots. Ground workers will receive an average of 21 more cents per month; flight attendants 10 cents; and managers and administrators 91 cents.
"Anyone we've underpaid, by even a dime, is getting paid back with interest and an apology," agency director Josh Gotbaum said in a statement. "And we're making other changes, so this doesn't ever happen again."
United declined to comment, deferring to the pension agency.
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