Remember the Kodak benefits/pensions plans and what happened after their Chapter 11 bankruptcy?
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Xerox pensions are ensured by PBGC. But there are caps on the monthly benefit amount that’s insured. “For a single life payout, the maximum amount of insured benefit at age 65 is $5,420.45. If your pension benefit is greater than the cap, the excess amount is not insured.”. And “If you have not yet reached age 65, your full pension benefit may not be insured even if it is less than the cap.“. You can read more details on the website.
The PBGC is currently underfunded. I don’t know how that will impact things going forward if the Xerox pensions were to end up there.
If Xerox or it’s successor no longer wants to manage the pension, they also have the option of purchasing an annuity from an insurance company for its participants or offering lump sum payouts. This removes the risk from the company’s balance sheet. An annuity would no longer be insured by the PBGC. The insurer may also recalculate the pension so you would need to make sure that they have all the right data so that the amount of your monthly payment remains intact. These plans are also insured but it works differently from the way pensions are insured. The insured amount is based on the net present value (your lump sum payment amount). The amount insured is $100,000-500,000 depending on the state.
As you know the lump sum amount changes with the interest rates. If Xerox changes the timing for the calculation (i.e. from yearly to monthly) with rising rates you could see your lump sum option reducing more quickly than in the past. While not a concern if you are looking towards the annuity (monthly payments), it’s a risk if you are looking at taking the lump sum in the future.
It is guaranteed by federal insurance.
https://www.pbgc.gov/
If you work for goverment or federal taxpayer will pay if it goes out , but at Xerox
You can lose it and if lucky you will get pennies on the dollar if you win the law suit...
Nothing is safe