New Interest Rates and Pension Band Rates Have Now Been Updated at VZ Benefits Center

The Verizon Benefits Center has updated two key components of Associates’ Lump Sum Pension calculations. The GATT Rate for the 4th quarter (4.37%) now appears for benefit commencement dates in October-November-December 2009. In addition, the pension band increase of approximately 3.5% has also been updated. For those of you planning to retire with the October 31st EISP offer, you should now be able to get accurate lump sum projections. If you need any assistance with these projections, please call Harris Financial Group at (800) 281-3980, and we will be happy to help you.

For Verizon Associates in West Virginia, we know that there are also several of you who are curious about what your lump sum pension amount would be if you were to retire in the 4th Quarter of 2009. You should now be able to view these amounts online or request them from the benefits center. Harris Financial Group is available for free retirement consultations, either over the phone or in person, and we would be happy to help you gather the information that you need to make your decisions.

Reminder: November is the Next Important Month for VZ Associates

Now that we know what the August GATT Rate was, we're now setting our sights on the next significant month, November. The November rate will be used for Jan-Feb-March 2010 retirement dates. We won't be providing daily updates on the GATT Rate until we get closer to November, but we will post any meaningful moves that may help identify the overall trend.

If you would like Harris Financial Group to help you evaluate your lump sum pension amount for the 4th Quarter of this year, please give us a call at (800) 281-3980. We should be able to help you determine whether the benefits center has updated the system with the new GATT Rate.

Q4 PBGC drops to 3.0%!!

Q4 PBGC posts a dramatic drop to 3.0% from 3.75% in Q2. This is yet another reason to run pension estimates in the month of September!!

It may be a week or more before the VZ Benefits Center has the new GATT Rate updated in their system. If you would like Harris Financial Group to provide you with an unofficial estimate while you await the official number from the benefits center, please call us at (800) 281-3980.

30 Year Treasury Yield at 4.18% Today; The Fourth Quarter GATT Rate is 4.373%

Critical month of August results in only a modest increase in the GATT rate from 4.23% to 4.373%. Taken alone. this 14 basis point move will produce slightly lower lump sum values for those working into Q4; however, the 3.5% pension band increase(PBI) slated to go into effect on October 01, 2009 should help to ameloriate the small decrease in lump sum values. In fact, it is likely that lump sums will actually increase in Q4 because the PBI benefit is greater than the loss created by the increase in rates!!
We encourage you to run your benefits estimate to verify the differential in Q3 versus Q4 prior to September 15 to make certain you have sufficient time to react if you want to leave prior to October 01.

For all of those people who are trying to get to Q1 2010, we are one step closer!!


It may be a week or more before the VZ Benefits Center has the new GATT Rate updated in their system. If you would like Harris Financial Group to provide you with an unofficial estimate while you await the official number from the benefits center, please call us at (800) 281-3980.

GATT at 4.21% Today; Monthly Average Drops Below 4.4%

With one trading day left this month, it looks like the August GATT Rate may settle slightly below 4.4%. All things considered, this is a vast improvement over what we saw earlier in the month.

It may be a week or more before the VZ Benefits Center has the new GATT Rate updated in their system. If you would like Harris Financial Group to provide you with an unofficial estimate while you await the official number from the benefits center, please call us at (800) 281-3980.

GATT Closes at 4.23% on Thursday

As we approach the end of August, the GATT Rate closed at 4.23% today. Remember, it is the monthly average that we want to watch.

We'll be posting the monthly average for the GATT no later than September 1st for all who may be interested.

If you have met with us or spoken with us in the past week, there have been no meaningful changes since then. If you have not yet spoken with us, please give us a call so that we can provide you with the information that you need. Call Harris Financial at (800) 281-3980.

Attention AT&T

We have had lots of calls from AT&T folks asking about the GATT rate. According to the CWA, the Pension Protection Act (PPA) Rate will be phased in 25% of the next four years until it completely replaces the GATT rate. If, however, during the life of this contract(until April 1, 2012), the GATT rate produces a higher lump sum than the combination of the PPA and GATT, then you receive whichever rate produces the highest lump sum for you.

Although this is a big change for you, you have the opportunity to see the difference the PPA rate produces without enduring its pain until 2012.

Please note, this post pertains to the AT&T Pension plan and contract. Verizon employees should not apply the information contained in this post to their own situation.

GATT Drops to 4.23%

It's looking more and more like the August GATT Rate isn't going to be as bad as it looked in early August. This is good news for anyone hoping to retire in the 4th Quarter, even though the August GATT will be higher than May's rate. Please call Harris Financial with any questions, (800) 281-3980 or (804) 526-0544.

GATT Rate Back Up to 4.36%

The week ended with the GATT Rate back up to 4.36%. We have six more trading days to determine what the average will be for August.

72(t) Rate on the Rise!

Here is a link to the latest Revenue Ruling from the IRS about the mid-term applicable federal rate that is used to calculate 72(t) retirement income payments. For more information about how much retirement income you might have, please contact Harris Financial at (800) 281-3980 or (804) 526-0544.