Retirement means different things to different people. There are just as many visions for it as there are individuals on the planet. A mortgage-free house. Travel. Working part-time versus full-time. Finally, more time to volunteer and give back. The ability and the hours to spoil your grandchildren.
You can see your retirement in the distance. What should you do now?
Of course, you’ve been planning, saving and investing all along to get to this point. This is the last leg of the journey. As you take the next few steps, there are a few things you need to know.
In order to retire from FedEx, you need to meet the following requirements:
FedEx retirees are eligible for a retiree badge, retiree shipping discounts, and certain other discounts depending on operating company. Eligibility for retirement and retiree health plan benefits are separately determined as discussed in the relevant sections of retirement.fedex.com.
The last 18 months before your retirement can be exciting. You are fast approaching the last major milestone in your career and looking forward to the freedom to spend more time on the things that matter most, such as travel, friends, family and new hobbies. But before you can enjoy your retirement, you need to make sure you are fully prepared for what comes next. The Path to Your Retirement guide* can give you an in-depth look.
Starting a year-and-a-half before your retirement, you want to take a holistic look at your finances to see where you stand. If you are concerned that there is a gap, you may want to contact a financial advisor to review your financial situation and make suggestions so that you can reach your retirement goal on time.
As you approach your last year of working, it’s also a great opportunity to make a plan for what will happen to your assets upon your death, as well as if you become incapacitated. It may not seem like a pressing issue yet, but taking this important step can provide peace of mind going into your retirement.
If you haven’t already taken advantage of retirement education resources, this is the perfect time to review courses provided by FedEx and Vanguard. You should also start familiarizing yourself with Medicare and Medicare supplemental plans by visiting medicare.gov.
In your last six months working for FedEx, you want to do a final review of your primary sources of retirement savings and start reviewing your distribution options.
This is the final push. It’s time to do one last review of your benefits and decide which eligible benefits you may want to continue into retirement.
By now you should have made all the necessary preparations for life after retirement. The only thing left to do is to complete the formal process for retirement with FedEx.
You made it! Now that you have retired from FedEx, there are a few more things you can do to make the most of your retirement.
Note: For more information about the Employee Stock Purchase Plan, contact Computershare at 1.800.326.6150 or computershare.com/employee/us (company code: FDX).
*The Path to Your Retirement guides are available for the following operating companies: FedEx Express (Federal Express Corporation, including team members residing in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam); FedEx Services (FedEx Corporate Services, Inc.); FedEx Corporate (FedEx Corporation); FedEx Custom Critical, Inc.; FedEx Forward Depots, Inc.; FedEx Freight Corporation; FedEx Freight, Inc.; FedEx Ground (FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. – excluding employees classified as package handlers and package handler parcel assistants); FedEx Logistics, Inc.; FedEx Office and Print Services, Inc.; FedEx Trade Networks Trade Services, LLC; and FedEx Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage, Inc..
**To learn more about COBRA, log in to choosewell.fedex.com. Under Tools and Resources, select the icon for Legal Notices & SPDs. Then, click 2018 Summary Plan Description, which is the Your Employee Benefits (YEB) book.
***These benefits are offered only to active employees. If the employee has the coverage while active, they may be able to continue it with direct pay to the carrier. For more on FedEx benefits assistance and questions, including any operating company-specific benefits, contact the Choose Well Care Connect team at 1.833.FDX.Well (toll-free).
****Retiring employees are not required to notify management at the same time they request a retirement kit.
Verify your delivery preference and add or update your personal email address to receive your pension kit and other notices in your personal mailbox when you log in securely.
Verify your marital status and beneficiaries to ensure all forms of payment are calculated correctly for your pension plan benefit. For assistance, please call the FedEx Retirement Service Center.
To request a retirement kit, contact the FedEx Retirement Service Center at 1.855.604.6221 at least 30 days prior to your anticipated Annuity Starting Date but no earlier than 90 days, or log in securely to start the retirement process.
Make pension choices and return the pension authorization forms. After you've submitted your pension choices, you must confirm and authorize them before payments can begin. You may be able to do this online or by signing and returning a form.
Notify your manager in writing of your intent to retire (usually no less than two weeks prior to your retirement date) to ensure timely entry of your retirement date.
Contact Vanguard any time after 30 days from your retirement date, if you would like to access your 401(k) balance.
Pay off any loans against your 401(k) balance within the time period permitted by your 401(k) savings plan or your loan balance will be treated as a taxable distribution.
Here’s additional information to consider before you complete the retirement process.
While you're a FedEx employee, you can make changes to your postal mailing address, phone numbers and other contact information through your HR system.
After you retire, you must use vanguard.com/retirementplans or your online pension account to make changes. Return to these same sites whenever your personal contact information changes so that you can stay in touch and continue to receive FedEx 401(k) and pension benefit updates.
*Each retirement benefit has its own eligibility requirements, so it’s possible for you to be eligible for one benefit and not be eligible for another.
If you are eligible for a FedEx pension plan, you can use the project your pension income tool to model various retirement scenarios, using different dates, etc. You can also save up to 12 projections and perform side-by-side comparisons of up to three projections at a time.
When you are ready to retire, you typically have a variety of options for pension plan distribution. You may be eligible to take a lump-sum distribution (which you will need to invest and manage) or choose to receive annuity payments (where you receive a monthly check with smaller amounts). Lump sums can be rolled into an IRA, where you are taxed only on money you decide to take out or must take out as a required minimum distribution after attaining age 72, unless you are still working for a FedEx company.
When deciding between a lump sum and an annuity, or when choosing your options for an annuity, it is important to think about your personal situation. Consider your potential longevity, the financial needs of survivors and any other retirement assets you may have. For example, if you think you won’t live long, you may want the lump sum. If you are likely to live into your 80s or 90s, you may want an annuity because it pays you the benefit until your death.
Your retirement kit from FedEx will provide an in-depth explanation of the available forms of payment, as well as important considerations for choosing a payment option.
Note: Which payment option you select can affect the benefit amount you receive. It may be best to discuss benefit options with a financial planner.
If you have questions about pension benefits, contact the FedEx Retirement Service Center (RSC) at 1.855.604.6221. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central time.
When you terminate employment with all FedEx companies, but no earlier than 30 days following your termination or retirement date, you have many options for distributions from the plan:
You have multiple options to take your money out:
Distributions that you elect to take from your 401(k) account generally are eligible for rollover to an IRA or another employer-sponsored retirement plan, unless the distributions are spread over your life expectancy or over a period of 10 years or more, or made to satisfy federal tax rules requiring minimum distributions following your attainment of age 72 (70½ if you reached age 70½ before January 1, 2020).
If you have made Roth contributions and/or Roth catch-up contributions, or you have taken advantage of the Roth conversion feature for your Retirement Savings Plan (RSP I and RSP II), you may be eligible for tax-free distributions. Withdrawals are tax-free, as long as it has been at least five years since you made your first Roth contribution and you meet one of the following conditions:
If you want to check your current account balance or have questions about the 401(k) plan, log on to vanguard.com/retirementplans or contact Vanguard Participant Services at 1.800.523.1188. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central time.
Managing your health care costs in retirement can be a challenge. That’s why it’s important to understand what benefits are available to you. If you are eligible, you can review your retiree health benefits on the FedEx Retirement Hub overview page for your operating company.
Whether or not you are eligible for FedEx retiree health benefits, you will still be able to take advantage of COBRA, private and public exchanges, other insurance providers, and Medicare.
The COBRA provision allows you and/or your dependents to continue coverage through the FedEx Corporation Group Health Plan, FedEx Custom Critical, Inc. Medical, Dental and Vision Care Plan, or FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. Retiree Medical, Dental and Vision Care Plan (for active employees) if certain qualifying events occur that would result in the loss of any health care benefits in which you were participating at the time of the qualifying event.
COBRA qualifying events include:
Medical, dental, and/or vision coverage may be continued under COBRA if coverage was in effect on the date prior to the qualifying event. Also, you are eligible to continue your participation in the Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) under COBRA only if you have an account balance upon retirement. The HCFSA cannot be continued beyond the end of the plan year in which the qualifying event takes place.
If you are covered under the FedEx Corporation Group Health Plan, FedEx Custom Critical, Inc. Medical, Dental and Vision Care Plan, or FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. Retiree Medical, Dental and Vision Care Plan (for active employees) at the time of your retirement, a COBRA packet will be mailed to your home address providing the option to continue coverage of your active medical, dental, and/or vision coverage for you and your covered dependents for up to 18 months (up to 36 months if due to death of active employee). When you receive the packet, you have 60 days from the date on the packet to choose COBRA continuation coverage. If you select COBRA and begin paying the required premium, your coverage will be retroactive to the day you lost your health insurance benefits due to the qualifying event.
If this is a new term for you, an “exchange” is simply an online resource where insurance providers advertise and sell their services. There is no uniform model. Some are run by companies and others are run by a state government or the federal government. In some markets, competition among plan providers works in your favor, and there’s a potential for better value and lower rates. This gives you the option to research various coverage options and possibly select different coverage, based on your needs.
Exchange Examples and Options:
Public exchanges are accessible to all employees, regardless of eligibility for FedEx retiree health benefits. You can shop for coverage through a public exchange administered by your state or the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace, where you might qualify for the annual federal premium tax subsidy.
If you choose this option, you can’t use both the FedEx Retiree Health Premium Account (RHPA) and the federal premium tax subsidy in the same year. You must choose one or the other. If you choose to use the federal premium tax subsidy, you will still have access to your RHPA the year after you stop using your federal premium tax subsidy.
To see if a public exchange is available in your state, go to healthcare.gov. Open enrollment for 2024 coverage in Federal Health Insurance Marketplace options begins November 1, 2023 and enrollment must be complete by December 15, 2023 to ensure coverage on January 1, 2024.
Learn more about the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace or the federal premium tax subsidy at healthcare.gov.
You can purchase health care coverage from an insurance broker or insurance company. The private exchange through Alight Retiree Health Solutions (ARHS) and its partner eHealth offers post-65 retirees access to additional health care coverage options. As an eligible post-65 retiree, you may find supplemental Medicare medical, prescription drug (pharmacy), dental and vision coverage that’s right for you.
You can also contact GetCovered through HealthMarkets for pre-65 medical, dental, and vision coverage and post-65 supplemental Medicare plans at 1.866.925.0120 or by visiting www.getcovered.com/uhc.
At age 65, you become eligible for Medicare. Don’t worry; you don’t have to navigate the Medicare landscape alone. Alight Retiree Health Solutions can assist you and/or your post-65 spouse in evaluating Medicare supplemental coverage and enrolling in a plan, if desired.
If you have reached age 65, your pre-65 eligible spouse and/or eligible dependents still can participate in the FedEx Corporation Retiree Group Health Plan or FedEx Retiree Group Health Plan, which offer pre-65 retiree medical, dental, and vision coverage options. You must call the FedEx Retiree Health Service Center at 1.888.715.1911 by the deadline indicated in your retiree health enrollment packet to make elections for your pre-65 dependents.
Retirees turning 65 who are not eligible for the RHPA or a retiree health plan will be contacted by Alight Retiree Health Solutions for assistance with post-65 health insurance needs.
Approximately 60 days before you or your covered spouse turns age 65, Alight Retiree Health Solutions will schedule an appointment for you and/or your spouse to speak with one of their licensed Benefits Advisors for assistance with evaluating Medicare supplemental coverage and enrolling in a plan.
Alight Retiree Health Solutions will send you a Medicare guide, along with an appointment letter, notifying you of the date and time a Benefits Advisor will call you. Upon receipt, please be sure to contact Alight to confirm your appointment date and time, or reschedule your appointment. Failure to do so will result in your appointment being canceled.
A comprehensive needs assessment with a licensed Benefits Advisor will help you narrow plan choices available to you, based upon your situation and needs. Also, the Benefits Advisor can advise you on next steps and how to enroll.
You may be eligible for a Retiree Reduced-Rate Shipping account. To be eligible for this benefit, at the time of leaving FedEx, the employee must be at least age 55, have at least five years of permanent continuous service, have voluntarily resigned and have a rehire status of yes or conditional. Spouses and dependent children of eligible employees are also eligible for a Retiree Reduced-Rate Shipping account. If a FedEx retiree dies, the family members of the deceased are no longer eligible for the reduced-rate discount.
To apply, you must complete the FedEx Reduced-Rate Shipping Privilege Retiree Account Number Request Form. Mail or fax the completed request form after your retirement date has been entered in the FedEx Human Resources Information System. You can also email the form to: EmployeeDiscountShipping@corp.ds.fedex.com.
Using fedex.com to prepare retiree shipments is the preferred method of obtaining the Retiree Reduced-Rate Shipping discount. You may take packages directly to a shipping location to obtain the discount as well. You must have a valid FedEx retiree ID badge at the time of the shipment.
It is the retiree’s responsibility to ensure retiree account number information is kept current. This includes updating credit card information at the beginning of the month in which your credit card will expire. You should also update account information if you change home address, telephone number or email address. To update your account information, log in to fedex.com and use Manage My Account. You may also contact FedEx Revenue Services at 1.800.622.1147 regarding account updates.
Retiree reduced-rate shipments are subject to all restrictions and guidelines found on the Employee Discount shipping website at fedex.com, using Manage My Account.
FedEx Employees Credit Association membership is available to all FedEx employees, FedEx retirees, immediate family, and household members. Simply open a savings account and establish your membership by purchasing your $25 par value share of membership to start enjoying the many products and services we offer. The $25 par value will remain in your savings account the entire time you are a member, and will be available to you if you decide to discontinue your membership in the future.
In addition, to FedEx employees and retirees, the following immediate family and household members are eligible for membership: spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren and other household members.
Regardless of your employment status with FedEx – once a member, always a member. As long as your share account maintains the minimum balance and your account remains in good standing per the terms of the membership agreement, then you’re a member for life.
Go to fecca.com for additional information. Member services can be contacted at 1.800.228.8513** (toll-free) or 1.901.344.2500 (Memphis area only) Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central time.
**Memphis area calls to the “800” number will result in a busy signal.
You may be eligible for discount airline travel. FedEx has negotiated agreements with certain passenger carriers. The agreements are subject to changes and cancellations at the discretion of the air carrier or FedEx. Retirees*** should contact Global Travel by email at GTPER@fedex.com or by calling 1.901.375.6000 (option 4) to request a Retiree Personal Travel Packet. This packet will be sent to you through email and will provide specific information regarding fare quotes, ticketing, rules of conduct, participating airlines and all other rules, as well as a FedEx Retiree Travel Request Form.
***Please note that retirees from only FedEx Corporation, FedEx Express, and FedEx Corporate Services are currently eligible for personal travel benefits.
Depending on how long you've been working, you may be eligible to receive Social Security retirement benefits. The amount of your Social Security benefits is based on your earnings averaged over your working career and the age you begin receiving benefits.
To estimate how much money you'll receive in monthly Social Security payments:
When you decide to start receiving your Social Security benefits and whether you continue to work after starting your Social Security benefits matter. When you get closer to retirement age, you will want to check your income record for your 35 highest paid years. You may decide to work additional years in order to:
When you need to apply for Social Security benefits depends on when you want payments to begin:
Funded through your personal payroll deductions, you will have access to Medicare after age 65; it covers basic medical services but no long-term care expenses. Basic information on Medicare options can be found at medicare.gov.
Medicare offers Part A and Part B plans, and private insurers take up the slack – for a fee – with Part C and Part D plans.
Here is a simple summary of what the plans cover.
Note: It is important to do your own research. For more information, go to medicare.gov, which provides loads of information that is easy to understand. It also offers a tool to help you compare costs and coverage.
Plans offered by private insurers approved by Medicare
The confusion and blurring of lines occur when you start looking at specifics. Part C and Part D can charge different out-of-pocket costs and have different rules for how you get services. All of the plans are referred to in numerous ways, too, which can create confusion.
If it’s getting close to time to sign up, start your research now. Generally, your initial enrollment period begins three months before you turn age 65.
If you have time before you reach retirement, it doesn’t hurt to start the education process. Gathering information over time will help you be better prepared and not totally overwhelmed as enrollment time nears.
Estate planning is for everyone. Clothes, jewelry, art, vehicles, antiques, homes, land, cash, checking and savings accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, stocks, bonds and more are considered part of a person's estate. In another sense, an estate is all the property a person owns at the time of their death. You want to make sure your wishes are followed, and estate planning ensures that what you want to happen actually does happen. Consider having a will, living trust, durable power of attorney, power of attorney for health care and/or a living will. Keep in mind, however, that your will does not govern who receives your ‘contract-controlled’ assets such as 401(k), Portable Pension Account and/or life insurance. Make sure your beneficiary designations are always current.
An estate plan makes sure that you and your beneficiaries get the maximum value from your hard-earned money – both before and after your death.
You should be aware of events that generally trigger the need for an estate review:
Because life insurance is an integral part of many people’s estate strategy, it’s important to review your coverage with your financial professional whenever you review your estate strategy with your attorney.
Make sure your will is still appropriate. Do the decisions you made regarding who will get your money and property still apply? Also, look at whom you chose to act as guardian of your minor children, whom you chose to be the executor or personal representative of your estate, and the trustee of any trusts you have created. Be sure these choices are still the right ones.
Write down the information your family will need to know when you die, including the location of your will; a list of your accounts and insurance policies; the names, addresses, and phone numbers of your advisors; and your funeral and burial instructions.
It will be helpful to list your assets: retirement accounts, investments, savings accounts, real estate, insurance policies, and valuable items like your mother’s pearls or your grandfather’s Mickey Mantle baseball card. Maybe you’ve watched Antiques Roadshow – take a look around and list important sentimental items, as well as financial documents.
Then decide whom you’d like to inherit these assets. That’s why you need to have a will and why it’s so important to fill out those beneficiary election forms. Note: Your will does not direct who will receive your retirement accounts. Why don’t you stop right this minute and take the time to choose a beneficiary – you’ll need a separate election for the pension and 401(k) plans – so your loved ones are protected when you die.
If you die before choosing a beneficiary – or without a will – your assets can be eaten up through the estate process and tied up for a long time in the court system. No one wants that to be the legacy left for loved ones to sort through.
The FedEx benefits described on this website are based on a formal plan document or contract. While this information is intended to be accurate, retirement benefits are subject to the detailed provisions of the applicable plan documents. If there is a conflict between this website and the official plan documents, the plan documents always govern. You are not entitled to retirement plan benefits due to a misstatement on or an omission from this website. FedEx reserves the right to amend or terminate any benefit plan at any time and for any reason.