Pension Plans Update Retirement Age Calculations for 2026
Published Date: 12/23/2025
Rule
Summary
Starting January 1, 2026, pension plans that are ending or in trouble will use a new table to figure out when people are expected to retire. This helps calculate how much money is owed for early retirement benefits and overall plan value. The change affects single-employer pension plans and could impact how much money is needed to cover benefits.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
2026 Expected Retirement Age Table
If you are a participant in a single-employer pension plan with a valuation date in 2026, PBGC's new Table I-26 (effective January 1, 2026) will be used to decide whether you have a low, medium, or high probability of retiring early. The table sets monthly-benefit cutoffs by the year you reach unreduced retirement age — for example, for URA in 2027 the table shows cutoffs including 849 and 3,587 — and those categories determine the expected retirement age used to value early retirement benefits.
2026 Missing-Participant Mortality Table
If you are a missing-participant beneficiary from a terminating defined benefit plan, PBGC updated the unisex mortality table in Sec. 4044.53(h) for benefit determination dates in 2026 (to be used for transfers to PBGC). The table provides age-specific mortality rates for 2026 — for example, the rate at age 65 is 0.00641 and the rate at age 90 is 0.12889 — which are used to compute the amounts transferred on your behalf.
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