Ford Pension Calculator: How to Use It
The calculator starts from the monthly amount on your Ford statement. It computes the IRS 417(e) minimum lump sum, checks any offer against it, and runs the PBGC or insurer check that fits who pays you.
What each input means
Single-life monthly pension
The monthly amount from your Ford statement or benefit estimate for a single-life annuity starting at your chosen start age, before any survivor reduction. The 417(e) minimum is computed on this amount.
Form you plan to elect
Single-life or joint and 50% survivor. If you pick joint and 50%, enter the monthly amount your statement shows for that form. Survivor reductions depend on both ages and the plan's factors, so the calculator doesn't estimate them. PBGC's cap is lower for the joint and 50% form, and the check uses the right column.
Lump sum offer
The amount in your election packet, if you have one. Without it, the calculator uses the 417(e) minimum as a stand-in for the lump sum.
Current age and pension start age
The minimum is valued at your current age for payments starting at the start age. If you're 58 and payments start at 65, the value today is lower than the value at 65 because of the seven-year wait and the chance of not reaching 65.
IRS segment rates
Defaults are the November 2025 rates (4.07%, 5.15%, 6.01%). Plans choose their own lookback month, so use the rates in your election packet if it lists them.
Return and planning age
Used only for your side of the comparison: the value of the pension at your expected return through your planning age, and how long an invested lump sum lasts if you withdraw the pension amount each month. They don't affect the 417(e) minimum, which uses the IRS mortality table.
Understanding the outputs
IRS 417(e) minimum lump sum today: the least the plan could pay at these rates if it offers a lump sum now, plus the same value at your start age.
Offer check: how far your offer sits above or below that minimum. Above means the plan appears to pay at least the legal minimum. Below usually means the plan used a different month of rates, start age or benefit amount, so ask.
Rate sensitivity: the minimum with all three segment rates 1 point higher and 1 point lower.
Invested lump sum rows: the balance at 80, 85 and 90 and the age it runs out, at a steady return with the pension amount withdrawn monthly from your start age.
PBGC check: your monthly amount against PBGC's 2026 maximum for your start age and form. For 2026 that's $7,789.77 a month at 65 for a single-life annuity and $7,010.79 for joint and 50%.
Frequently asked questions
Did Ford move its U.S. pensions to an insurer?
Ford's 10-Ks don't report one. Its 2022 and 2023 U.S. settlements were mostly salaried lump sum retirement payments, and the only insurer transfer in that period was for a non-U.S. plan.
When did Ford close its salaried pension?
Salaried employees hired on or after January 1, 2004 got a defined contribution plan instead of the pension. UAW-represented hourly employees hired on or after October 24, 2011 also get a defined contribution plan.
Has Ford offered pension lump sums before?
Yes. Ford announced voluntary lump sum offers to eligible U.S. salaried retirees and former salaried employees in April 2012, made from August 2012 through 2013. It settled $1.2 billion of obligations in 2012.
Is my Ford pension PBGC-insured?
Yes, up to PBGC's limit. For 2026 that's $7,789.77 a month for a single-life annuity starting at 65, less for earlier starts or a joint and survivor form.