General Electric Co. took a step to cut the worst pension deficit in corporate America, freezing benefits for more than 20,000 employees. The company, which closed its pension plan to new entrants in 2012, said retirees already drawing pension benefits won’t be affected. GE will offer a lump-sum payment to 100,000 eligible former employees who haven’t started receiving their monthly pension payments. Beginning in 2021, about 20,000 employees in GE’s main U.S. pension plan will stop accruing new benefits, under the plans GE unveiled Monday. The efforts to reduce debt are encouraging for investors, though a pension freeze is likely to damage employee morale, Barclays analyst Julian Mitchell said in a note.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 07, 2019 17:48 UTC