Southwest Airlines

Our Experience Working with Southwest Pilots, Employees, and Families

Smith Anglin Financial is proud to work side by side with Southwest pilots to provide retirement benefits planning. We’ve helped them understand and maximize their plan options for over 20 years. We’re specialists in Southwest’s 401k investment options and the performance of those options within the employer-provided retirement benefits plan. We’re also specialists in managing the tax issues for your deferred compensation components.

What You Should Know About Your Southwest Pilot Retirement Plan

  • Southwest Airlines’ Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA) is a managed brokerage account that resides within your 401(k) plan. It enables you to contribute retirement plan savings into an expanded range of investment choices. If managed properly, it can give you an incredible advantage when it comes to saving for retirement.

  • The graphic below highlights some of the milestones that should initiate changes in your Southwest Airlines retirement benefits strategy.

Early Career
  • Open and contribute to IRAs, Roth IRAs
  • Participate in company 401k plan
  • Make use of PCRA sub-account
  • Make maximum contributions
  • Seek professional advice for investment and tax issues
At Age 50
  • Begin making “catchup contributions” into 401k and IRA
At Age 59.5
  • Rollover assets in 401k to IRA
  • Rollover assets from ProfitSharing into IRA
At Age 65
  • Transfer/Rollover remaining retirement assets to IRA
  • Establish a financial plan for retirement
401k
PCRA
Catch-up Contributions
401k
PCRA
401k
PCRA
Employee annual contributions
Employer annual contributions
IRA
IRA
IRA
  • A non-qualified plan is a type of tax-deferred, employer-sponsored retirement plan that falls outside of Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) guidelines. These plans allow Southwest to defer a greater amount for retirement than is permitted inside a qualified plan: 401(a)(17), Excess 415 Benefit, and Top Hat Plan.

  • When you enroll in these plans, you must elect how to receive the funds (as a lump sum or spread out over several years in installments). This decision is irrevocable, so it is critical that you plan wisely to avoid unnecessarily high tax payments.

Financial Highlights of the 2024 Contract

Follow the link below to view the financial summary.

Helping Co-Pilot Your Financial Journey, No Matter Where You Are

Whether you’re nearing retirement or early in your career, we can help you better prepare for the path ahead.

Are You Ready For Retirement? [1:47]

Qualified vs. Non-Qualified Plans [3:19]

Learn About Your PCRA [2:32]

Southwest Pilots, You Took the Early Out. What Happens Now? [2:53]

401K-Autopilot-Flipbook-1.jpg

Request Your 401k AutopilotSM Program Digital Brochure

If you are a pilot with a 401k balance under $500k, our 401K AutopilotSM  Program is the solution we’ve created to help optimize your financial future. Our team of experts will help you navigate the ever-changing capital markets landscape and set up a financially savvy flight plan to accomplish what matters most to you – building a more secure financial picture for all the years ahead. To learn more, request your digital brochure today!