GE To Freeze Pensions For About 20,000 U.S. Employees

(RTTNews) - General Electric Co. (GE) said Monday that it will freeze the Pension Plan for about 20,000 U.S. employees with salaried benefits, and U.S. Supplementary Pension benefits for about 700 employees, who became executives before 2011. The freeze will be effective January 1, 2021.

GE said the move is part of its plan that is expected to reduce its pension deficit by $5 billion to $8 billion and industrial net debt by $4 billion to $6 billion.

The company noted that there would be no change for retirees already collecting pension benefits or employees with production benefits.

GE noted that it will record a non-cash, pre-tax curtailment charge in the fourth quarter of 2019. GE's pension plan has been closed to new entrants since January 1, 2012.

The company is pre-funding about $4 - $5 billion of estimated minimum Employee Retirement Income Security Act or ERISA funding requirements for 2021 and 2022.

GE is offering about 100,000 eligible former employees who have not started their monthly payments under the U.S. GE Pension Plan a limited-time option to receive their benefit in a lump sum.