PensionMath

UPS Pension Calculator: Lump Sum vs Monthly Annuity

Pick your UPS plan and enter the monthly amount from your statement. The calculator values it at the IRS 417(e) minimum rates, runs the right PBGC check for your plan type, and shows how a lump sum would hold up if you invested it.

Your UPS pension details

UPS sponsors two single-employer plans. The UPS Retirement Plan covers eligible non-union employees hired before July 1, 2016 and certain union employees, with benefits based on average pay. Non-union accruals in it stopped January 1, 2023. The UPS/IBT Full-Time Employee Pension Plan covers Teamsters who used to be in the Central States Pension Fund and others under certain contracts, with benefits based on service credits. UPS left Central States in 2007 and paid a $6.1 billion withdrawal liability.

Many UPS Teamsters are still in multiemployer funds, such as the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan and the New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund.

Whether you can take a lump sum, and which month's rates apply, depends on your plan. Check your summary plan description. This calculator values the monthly amount on your statement at the IRS 417(e) minimum rates.

Single-employer plan sponsored by UPS.

From your UPS plan or fund statement. Use the single-life amount at the start age below, before any survivor reduction.

Without an offer, we use the IRS 417(e) minimum lump sum at the rates below as a stand-in.

Age monthly payments begin.

IRS 417(e) segment rates

Defaults are the November 2025 rates, which many calendar-year plans use for 2026. Each plan picks its own lookback month, so copy the rates from your election packet if it lists them.

Used only for the "at your return" value. The 417(e) minimum uses the IRS mortality table.

Free to run. Full analysis + PDF/PNG export is $19.99, yours permanently on this device.

Get retirement alerts

We track IRS rule changes, rate updates, and retirement law changes. One email when something moves enough to affect your math.

No spam. One email per month, or sooner if rates shift meaningfully. Unsubscribe anytime.

How the 417(e) minimum works

A plan doesn't have to offer a lump sum. If it does, IRC 417(e) sets the least it can pay. Each expected monthly payment is weighted by the chance you're alive to get it, using the IRS mortality table, and discounted at one of three segment rates: one for payments under 5 years away, one for 5 to 20 years, and one beyond 20 years. Higher rates mean smaller lump sums.

Each plan picks which month's rates to use. The calculator defaults to the November 2025 rates, which many calendar-year plans use for 2026, but your UPS election packet lists the rates your plan actually used. If you're years from your start date, the value today is lower than the value at the start date because you're also discounting the wait and the chance of not reaching it.

Comparing an offer to this number tells you whether the plan is paying at least the legal minimum. It doesn't tell you whether the lump sum is the right choice for you.

Which UPS plan you're in

The UPS Retirement Plan covers eligible non-union employees hired before July 1, 2016 and certain union employees. Benefits are based on average pay. Non-union accruals stopped January 1, 2023, and those employees now get annual retirement contributions in the UPS 401(k) Savings Plan instead.

The UPS/IBT Full-Time Employee Pension Plan is a single-employer plan UPS sponsors. It covers Teamsters who used to be in the Central States Pension Fund, plus others under certain contracts, and pays benefits based on service credits. UPS withdrew from Central States in 2007 and paid a $6.1 billion withdrawal liability to set it up.

Many UPS Teamsters are still in multiemployer funds run by joint boards of trustees, such as the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan and the New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund.

Lump sums and rates

UPS's 10-K doesn't say whether its plans offer lump sums or which month of IRS rates they use. Your summary plan description and election packet do. Enter those rates if your packet lists them.

PBGC protection

Both UPS-sponsored plans are single-employer plans. For 2026, PBGC guarantees a straight-life annuity starting at 65 up to $7,789.77 a month. The cap is lower if payments start earlier ($6,153.92 at 62, $3,505.40 at 55) and lower again for a joint and 50% survivor annuity ($7,010.79 at 65). The calculator checks your amount against the row for your start age and form.

Multiemployer funds have a separate PBGC guarantee: your years of credited service times at most $35.75 a month per year.

Sources

Related calculators

Lump Sum vs Annuity

Implied IRR and break-even age for any pension

Pension Buyout Analyzer

Check any buyout offer

Survivor Benefit Calculator

Social Security claiming strategy for widows and widowers

Verizon Pension Calculator

Management and union plans

For high-stakes decisions

Running six-figure numbers? Get a second opinion.

A fee-only fiduciary can model your specific situation. No products sold. No commissions. Most charge $200-500 for a one-time analysis.

Find a fee-only advisor

PensionMath earns no referral fee from NAPFA. We link there because it is the most trusted source for fee-only advisors.

Frequently asked questions

Are UPS Teamsters in Central States?

Not since 2007 for the group UPS moved out. UPS withdrew from Central States in 2007, paid a $6.1 billion withdrawal liability, and covers those employees in the UPS/IBT Full-Time Employee Pension Plan, a single-employer plan. Other UPS Teamsters are in multiemployer funds such as the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan.

Did UPS freeze its non-union pension?

Yes. The UPS Retirement Plan stopped non-union accruals on January 1, 2023. Non-union employees hired on or after July 1, 2016 were never in it.

Can I take a UPS pension lump sum?

It depends on your plan and group. UPS's 10-K doesn't say, so check your summary plan description.

Is my UPS pension PBGC-insured?

Both UPS-sponsored plans are single-employer plans covered by PBGC up to its limit for your start age and form. Multiemployer Teamsters funds fall under PBGC's separate multiemployer program.