Verizon Pension Calculator: Lump Sum vs Monthly Annuity
Enter the monthly amount from your Verizon pension statement. The calculator values it at the IRS 417(e) minimum rates, checks the PBGC guarantee if a Verizon plan still pays you, and shows how a lump sum would hold up if you invested it.
Get retirement alerts
We track IRS rule changes, rate updates, and retirement law changes. One email when something moves enough to affect your math.
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 Verizon 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.
Verizon's two plans
The Verizon Management Pension Plan covers management employees, who no longer earn pension benefits. Union-represented employees are in the Verizon Pension Plan for Associates. Verizon's 10-K doesn't publish the benefit formulas, so the calculator works from the monthly amount on your statement.
The 2012 and 2024 transfers
In October 2012 the Verizon Management Pension Plan agreed to buy a group annuity from Prudential covering about 41,000 management retirees and 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 both plans agreed to buy group annuities from Prudential and RGA, closing March 6, 2024. They settled about $5.9 billion of obligations for 56,000 retirees who started payments before January 1, 2023. Prudential and RGA each took half (Prudential all of it in some states), and the insurers began paying directly on July 1, 2024. Later retirees and active and deferred participants weren't affected.
PBGC doesn't guarantee an annuity once an insurer has taken it over. Your state's life and health insurance guaranty association backs it instead. In most states that limit is $250,000 in present value for annuities, and some states set it higher.
PBGC protection
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.
Sources
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 advisorPensionMath earns no referral fee from NAPFA. We link there because it is the most trusted source for fee-only advisors.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays my Verizon pension?
It depends on when you retired. About 41,000 management retirees moved to Prudential in 2012. About 56,000 management and associate retirees who started payments before January 1, 2023 moved to Prudential and RGA in 2024. Everyone else is still paid by the Verizon plans.
Is the Verizon management pension frozen?
Yes. Verizon says its management employees no longer earn pension benefits.
Is my Verizon pension PBGC-insured?
If a Verizon plan still pays you, yes, up to PBGC's limit. If Prudential or RGA took over your annuity, your state guaranty association backs it instead.