In this week’s Custodian Update, we provide additional updates on last week’s topics, including the Spirit Pilots’ 401(k) Plan and the Offer to Return Dues from ALPA National and the Spirit MEC. We also share new information regarding the NJ WARN make-whole payments and the return of the Merger Fund. Each of these items is addressed below.
Offer to Return Dues
There will be two upcoming offers to return dues. One from ALPA, which is an All Member Return that includes all eligible Spirit Pilots. The second is the return of the Spirit Airlines MEC Balance. The timeline below reflects the payment schedule for these two offers.
August 10-21: All Member Return
August 24-28: SPA MEC Balance
If you have already updated or confirmed the information needed to process the offer to return dues in your member account, thank you!
If not, there are important steps to take, all on ALPA’s secure website, to ensure you can accept the forthcoming offers.
- If you wish to receive your dues return offer via an electronic funds transfer, fill out the Direct Deposit Authorization Form.
- If you would prefer a mailed check, update or confirm your mailing address in your member account.
Once you have updated or confirmed your information, no further action is necessary. There is only one confirmation required for both offers to return dues.
All links are part of ALPA’s secure website; you’ll need your ALPA ID to log in. See our FAQs for questions about security of this information or its use. If you are concerned about the legitimacy of this request, this information can be accessed directly from the ALPA website. Visit the ALPA homepage, log in to the member portal, and click the Dues Return Offer link from there. Alternately, you can type alpa.org/duesreturn into your browser.
The All Member Dues Return offer is available to everyone who was obligated to pay dues during the 2025 calendar year. The dissolution of the remaining balance of the SPA MEC Account (less contract implementation grants) is available to all pilots who were on property at Spirit Airlines the day of the shutdown and were obligated to pay dues during the years when SPA MEC generated the surplus (2020, 2021, and 2023).
However, for ALPA to distribute these funds, it must be able to make the offer to you. Members who neither complete the Direct Deposit Authorization Form to enable electronic payment nor provide a current mailing address in their member account to facilitate the receipt of the offered check will be deemed to have declined the offered return of dues.
Merger Fund
The audit of the Merger Fund is now complete. The Custodian Team intends to begin returning Merger Fund balances as early as September 2026. All pilots who were assessed, regardless of whether they remained at Spirit Airlines through the shutdown, are eligible to receive a return. The Custodian Team will provide a more specific distribution timeline as September approaches.
Spirit 401(k) Update
We have confirmed with Schwab and the Company that the number of active 401(k) accounts continues to decrease as terminations are processed daily by Schwab. The remaining number of active 401(k) accounts is 237.
Below is an update to the specific remaining actions taking place at Schwab that have prevented some 401(k) accounts from terminating as expected. The new expected end date for final Pilot 401(k) account terminations is on or around August 21, 2026.
- Pilots who still have active 401(k) accounts may notice withdrawals being taken from their accounts listed as “Compliance Returns” and “Compliance Earnings.”
- The amounts being deducted are directly related to IRS required non-discrimination testing results and IRS mandated partial plan-year limits for Pilot contributions in 2026 and are being returned to affected Pilots.
- If you see or have recently seen a deduction to your 401(k) account as described above, we have confirmed with Schwab that a check will be issued to the Pilot directly from Schwab.
- Please note that the refunds Pilots receive from Schwab are considered taxable income for the 2026 calendar year and that this was an unavoidable circumstance because of the 401(k)’s short plan year and IRS requirements.
- Pilot 401(k) accounts that needed corrections to convert pre-tax to Roth contributions have been processed per Schwab. However, many of these accounts are part of the remaining 237 open 401(k) accounts that still require a refund as noted above.
As we know more from Schwab and the Company, we will continue to share information about Pilot 401(k) accounts. If you have questions about your 401(k) account, please contact Schwab directly; additionally, the HR@spirit.com distribution list continues to be monitored.
NJ WARN
As mentioned in a previous Custodian Update, some pilots who received payments from Spirit under the provisions of the New Jersey Warn Act were owed corrective payments.
Spirit has informed the Custodian Team that corrective payments for those pilots who were underpaid were made this week. In addition, Spirit also informed the Custodian Team that there was a group of approximately 50 pilots who were overpaid on the initial New Jersey WARN payment.
For those pilots who have been overpaid, Spirit has informed the Custodian Team that the Company intends to recoup the balance of the overpayment. Those pilots should expect separate correspondence from Spirit Airlines regarding the amount of the overpayment and the process for remitting any balance due. ALPA will also send an individual email to the pilots identified as overpaid with more information.
We appreciate and value the time each of you takes to read these updates. We hope that you find them helpful and informative regarding the outstanding issues facing our pilots as we continue to work through the shutdown of our airline. Please continue to take care of yourselves and each other.
In Unity,