Xerox built much of Webster and employed generations of Rochester families. Many of them earned a pension under the Xerox Retirement Income Guarantee Plan, known as RIGP.
That plan closed to new employees in the mid-2000s and was frozen at the end of 2012, so your benefit is largely set. What isn’t set is how and when you take it.
How your Xerox pension works
- RIGP is Xerox’s tax-qualified pension for U.S. salaried employees. It closed to new participants in 2005 and to rehires in 2007.
- Benefits were frozen effective December 31, 2012. Pay and service after that generally don’t increase the benefit.
- Xerox has described early retirement as available from 55 with at least 10 years of service, with benefits reduced if started before the plan’s normal retirement age.
- Participants can elect the benefit as a lump sum or an annuity.
- Your own statement, from the Xerox benefits center, is the only reliable source for your numbers and options.
The decisions in front of you
When to start
Starting early means a smaller benefit, often permanently. Waiting means a bigger one but fewer years of checks. The right date depends on your other income.
What form
A single-life annuity, a joint and survivor annuity, or a lump sum. If you’re married, your spouse generally has to consent to anything other than a joint and survivor annuity.
Your 401(k)
Keep it in the Xerox plan, roll it to an IRA, or a mix. Rolling to an IRA gives up some protections and age-55 access. Compare costs first.
Retiree health coverage
What Xerox offers retirees and their spouses, and how it interacts with Medicare at 65.
Lump sum or annuity
The lump sum is calculated from your annuity using interest rates and an IRS life-expectancy table, so it moves when rates move.
Higher rates produce smaller lump sums. Compare the lump sum with what the same income would cost to buy from an insurer. Then weigh how long you and your spouse are likely to live.
If you take the lump sum, roll it directly into an IRA. A direct rollover avoids the mandatory 20% federal withholding and keeps the money tax-deferred. Paid to you, it’s taxable unless rolled over within 60 days.
- Payout rate the offer implies
- 8%
- Return needed to last to 90
- 7%
- Pension checks paid by 90
- $672K
If you had executive pension plans
Some Xerox executives also have benefits under nonqualified plans, such as the unfunded RIGP or a supplemental executive retirement plan.
These follow different rules. Xerox’s filings say the unfunded RIGP can’t be paid as a lump sum. And nonqualified benefits are unsecured promises from the company, not assets held in a protected trust. Their timing elections can be hard or impossible to change. Plan them before you leave.
Bring these three documents
They answer most of the first questions, and they show what needs attention before any deadline.
1. Your latest RIGP benefit statement or estimate
From the Xerox benefits center. It shows your frozen benefit, the forms you can take it in, and the amount at each start date.
2. Your Xerox 401(k) statement
Balances, investments and any company stock, so the pension and the 401(k) are planned together.
3. Any executive plan elections
Unfunded RIGP, supplemental plan or deferred compensation papers. Their timing choices may already be locked in.
Reading a lump sum offer
| If you choose | You get | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly annuity | $2,000 a month for life ($24,000 a year) | Does it continue for your spouse, and at what percentage? |
| Lump sum | $300,000 once, rolled to an IRA | Could you safely draw $24,000 a year from it for life? |
| The comparison | $24,000 ÷ $300,000 = 8% a year | Compare 8% with what the same income would cost to buy from an insurer |
In this made-up case, matching the annuity would mean withdrawing 8% a year, more than most people can safely take. That points toward the annuity unless health, other income or the wish to leave money behind change the math. Your statement has the real figures.
How Morrowgate helps. Greg reads your RIGP statement, 401(k) and any executive plan documents. Then he shows you in dollars what each start date and payout choice means for you and your spouse, with Social Security and taxes included. If you take a lump sum or roll the 401(k), accounts are held in your name at Fidelity, with Schwab available.
Questions Xerox retirees ask
Is the Xerox pension still growing?
Generally no. RIGP benefits were frozen effective December 31, 2012. Your statement shows your frozen benefit and any adjustments for when you start.
Can I take my Xerox pension as a lump sum?
RIGP allows a lump sum or an annuity as elected. Your benefits center can confirm the options and amounts for your start date.
Does my spouse have to agree?
If you’re married and choose anything other than a joint and survivor annuity, federal law generally requires your spouse’s written consent.
Is my pension affected by Xerox’s business changes?
Tax-qualified pension assets are held in a trust and insured by the PBGC up to legal limits. Nonqualified executive plans are not.
Where this guidance stops
This article is general education on Xerox retirement benefits: 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
- Xerox Holdings: 2025 annual report on Form 10-K (frozen U.S. pension plans; unfunded plans) (SEC)
- Xerox Holdings: Form 10-Q, second quarter 2026 (pension contributions) (SEC)
- Xerox Corporation: 2013 proxy statement, RIGP plan design (historical background) (SEC)
- Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: maximum guarantee
- IRS: Rollovers of retirement plan and IRA distributions