Verizon management employees no longer earn pension benefits, and many Verizon retirees are now paid by insurers instead of the plan.
Where the Verizon pension stands
Verizon management employees no longer earn pension benefits. Union-represented employees are covered by the Verizon Pension Plan for Associates. Verizon's 10-K doesn't publish the benefit formulas.
Lump sums and insurer transfers
In October 2012 the Verizon Management Pension Plan agreed to buy a group annuity from Prudential covering about 41,000 management retirees and settling about $7.5 billion of obligations. Management retirees who retired on or after January 1, 2010 and union retirees weren't included. On February 29, 2024 the management and associates plans agreed to buy group annuities from Prudential and RGA, closing March 6, 2024, to settle about $5.9 billion of obligations for 56,000 retirees who started payments before January 1, 2023. The insurers began paying those retirees directly on July 1, 2024.
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
Verizon jobs paid into Social Security, so the Windfall Elimination Provision never applied to these pensions, and WEP was repealed anyway for benefits payable after December 2023.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 Verizon employer page lists the filings behind every date and dollar figure here.