For generations, a Kodak pension was part of what it meant to work in Rochester.
The Kodak Retirement Income Plan, KRIP, covered roughly 35,000 people. In 2025, Kodak terminated it. Benefits weren’t cut. The plan was overfunded, so it paid lump sums to people who chose them and bought annuities from an insurance company for everyone else. But the change raises new questions for each group.
What happened to KRIP
Kodak’s board decided to terminate KRIP after selling illiquid plan assets. Under the plan Kodak described in its filings, participants who hadn’t started benefits could choose a lump sum.
Retirees already being paid, and anyone who didn’t take a lump sum, are now covered by an annuity from Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company, a MetLife subsidiary. Payments are meant to match what KRIP paid. The contract covers about 27,000 retirees and beneficiaries, and the insurer took over payments and customer service in early 2026. The plan’s surplus, after benefits were settled, reverted to Kodak, subject to federal excise tax. Current employees moved to a new cash balance plan.
Which group are you in?
| If you | What changed | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Were already retired and receiving a KRIP pension | Your check now comes from an insurance company | That the amount, survivor terms and tax withholding match what KRIP paid |
| Took the lump sum | You now control a large sum, ideally in a rollover IRA | Where it went, whether tax was withheld, and how it’s invested |
| Chose an annuity instead of the lump sum | You’ll receive payments from the insurer when you start | Your start date options and survivor choices |
| Still work at Kodak | You’re in the Kodak Cash Balance Plan | How it grows and the payout choices at retirement |
If you took the lump sum
The money is now yours to manage, which is the point and the risk. A lump sum rolled directly into an IRA isn’t taxed until you take it out.
If it was paid to you instead, 20% was withheld. The rest is taxable unless you rolled the full amount, including the withheld 20%, into an IRA within 60 days. Your CPA will want the 1099-R.
- Confirm it landed in an IRA, not a taxable account.
- Decide how much of it needs to replace the pension you gave up, and invest that part for income, not excitement.
- Set beneficiaries on the IRA. A KRIP pension may have had survivor terms. An IRA only has what you put on the form.
- Plan withdrawals around Social Security and taxes. Required withdrawals start at 73, or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later.
- Beware of anyone eager to put the whole amount into a single product right away.
- Payout rate the offer implies
- 8%
- Return needed to last to 90
- 7%
- Pension checks paid by 90
- $672K
If you’re now paid by an insurance company
Your payments should be the same, but the safety net is different. While KRIP existed, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation insured it up to legal limits.
Once a pension’s annuities move to an insurer, PBGC coverage generally ends. Protection then depends on the insurer’s strength and on state insurance guaranty associations, which also have limits. That’s not a reason to worry. It’s a reason to keep your paperwork, know the insurer’s name, and make sure your other savings don’t rely entirely on that check.
If you still work at Kodak
Cash balance basics
A cash balance plan is a pension that looks like an account. It grows with pay credits and interest credits, and at retirement you can usually take it as a lump sum or an annuity.
Your 401(k)
The cash balance plan sits alongside your savings plan. Together they’re your retirement income. Plan them as one.
At retirement
You’ll face the lump sum or annuity choice again. Compare them in dollars, with your spouse, before the deadline.
Bring these three documents
They answer most of the first questions, and they show what needs attention before any deadline.
1. The insurer’s welcome packet or latest annuity statement
If you’re paid by the insurer: it confirms the amount, survivor terms and withholding now in force.
2. Your lump sum paperwork and Form 1099-R
If you took the lump sum: it shows whether it was rolled over directly or paid to you, and what was withheld.
3. Your Kodak savings plan and cash balance statements
If you still work at Kodak: the 401(k) and the new cash balance plan are now your retirement plans.
What a direct rollover saved
| Rolled directly to an IRA | Paid to you | |
|---|---|---|
| Withheld for federal tax | $0 | $50,000 (20%) |
| Taxable this year | $0 | $250,000, unless you rolled over the full amount within 60 days |
| Amount still invested | $250,000 | $200,000, unless you added $50,000 from savings |
If a check was paid to you and you didn’t replace the withheld 20% within 60 days, that part is taxed as income. A 10% additional tax may also apply before 59½. Check your 1099-R and IRA statement to see which column you’re in.
How Morrowgate helps. Greg reviews your Kodak paperwork, the lump sum or the insurer’s annuity statement, and fits it into one plan with Social Security, savings and taxes. If you took a lump sum, he shows how much of it has to replace the pension and invests it for that job. It’s held in your name at Fidelity, with Schwab available.
Questions Kodak retirees ask
Did Kodak retirees lose their pensions?
No. KRIP was overfunded, and Kodak said retirees’ payments would continue unchanged through an annuity purchased from an insurance company.
Is my Kodak pension still insured by the PBGC?
Generally not once it’s been transferred to an insurer. Protection then comes from the insurer and state guaranty associations, up to their limits.
I took the Kodak lump sum. Do I owe taxes?
Not if it was directly rolled into an IRA. If it was paid to you, it’s taxable unless rolled over within 60 days, and penalties may apply before 59½.
Can I still get a lump sum?
The KRIP election window has closed. If you chose an annuity, ask the insurer what options your contract allows.
Where this guidance stops
This article is general education on Kodak’s pension termination and retiree decisions: how the rules and the options generally work.
It is not tax, legal or investment advice, and nothing here is a recommendation for your situation. Rules change and outcomes turn on the facts, which is why a CPA and an attorney look at a family’s own numbers before anything is done.
Sources
- Kodak Form 8-K: KRIP annuity purchase from Metropolitan Tower Life (Oct. 2025)
- 401(k) Specialist: Kodak terminates pension, replaces it with cash balance plan
- Eastman Kodak: SEC filing on KRIP asset sale and potential termination (Nov. 2024, background)
- Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation