Verizon pension buyout history
Verizon transferred $7.5 billion of management pension obligations to Prudential in 2012 and another $5.9 billion to Prudential and RGA in 2024.
Timeline
2012
Verizon transferred approximately $7.5 billion of management pension plan liabilities to Prudential, covering about 41,000 management retirees. The transaction survived a participant court challenge.
2024
Prudential and RGA assumed a further $5.9 billion of Verizon pension obligations in a second risk transfer.
What this means for you
Verizon's 2012 deal, alongside GM's the same year, effectively launched the modern U.S. pension risk transfer market, and the litigation it survived established that employers can annuitize benefits without participant consent when done properly.
Transferred Verizon retirees receive the same benefit from the insurer, with state guaranty associations replacing the PBGC as the backstop. Details in our risk transfer guide.
If you are a participant and receive a new offer letter, the analysis is the same as for any buyout: request the calculation worksheet, run the numbers in our calculator, and work through the 12 questions before the deadline. Declining always leaves your benefit in place.
Sources
Deciding on a Verizon pension offer?
Run the exact numbers from your offer letter, then get an independent second opinion before the window closes.