Northrop Grumman still sponsors several U.S. pension plans, and some employees are still earning benefits in them. Here's what its FY2025 10-K says.
Where the Northrop Grumman pension stands
Northrop Grumman sponsors several U.S. defined benefit pension plans. Benefits for most participants are based on years of service, age and compensation, and part of the obligation uses a cash balance formula with pay-based credits and monthly interest at the 30-year Treasury rate, with a 2.25% minimum crediting rate. Depending on date of hire, some employees get a company non-elective contribution or an enhanced 401(k) match instead of a pension benefit. The plans still reported $217 million of service cost in 2025, so some employees are still earning benefits.
Lump sums and insurer transfers
Northrop's FY2025 10-K doesn't describe a lump sum window or an insurer transfer for its U.S. plans, and we found no primary source for one.
What a lump sum is worth in 2026
When a private plan pays a lump sum, it can't be smaller than the IRS 417(e) present value. Plans that use November rates for 2026 apply the November 2025 segment rates: 4.07% for payments in years 1 to 5, 5.15% for years 6 to 20 and 6.01% after that, with the IRS 2026 mortality table from Notice 2025-40. On those inputs, a $3,000 monthly benefit starting at 65 has a minimum lump sum of about $442,500. Your plan's lookback month can differ, so check your Summary Plan Description, and run your own benefit through the lump sum calculator.
PBGC coverage
Benefits still in a private single-employer plan are insured by the PBGC. For a plan that terminates in 2026, PBGC guarantees up to $7,789.77 a month for a straight-life annuity starting at 65, less for earlier starts or survivor forms. Benefits moved to an insurer leave the PBGC system and rely on the insurer and state guaranty associations instead.
Social Security
Northrop Grumman jobs paid into Social Security, so the Windfall Elimination Provision never applied to these pensions, and WEP was repealed anyway for benefits payable after December 2023. If the pension covers your basic expenses, delaying Social Security toward 70 raises the one income source that adjusts for inflation. Model it with the Social Security calculator.
The Northrop Grumman employer page lists the filings behind every date and dollar figure here.