For most Chevron employees, the choice between a lump sum and a lifetime annuity is one of the largest single financial decisions of their lives — and once it's made, you generally can't change your mind. We help you walk into that decision with clear eyes, not under deadline pressure.
Flexibility, investment control, and a legacy for heirs — but you bear longevity, market, and discipline risk.
A guaranteed monthly check you can't outlive — but a fixed payment with no COLA, and limited access to principal.
The CRP election is the headline decision — but it doesn't stand alone. Each of these has a right answer specific to your household, and getting one wrong can quietly cost you for the rest of your life.
The single biggest fork. The right answer depends on longevity, your other guaranteed income, survivor needs, legacy goals, and the current interest-rate environment — not on which option sounds safer.
The CRP lump sum is the present value of the annuity, calculated using prevailing rates. The same pension can translate into a meaningfully different lump sum depending on when you commence. Timing isn't a detail; it's a lever.
The CRP annuity stays level. Over a 25-to-30-year retirement, even modest inflation quietly halves your purchasing power. Many Chevron retirees only realize this after the election is locked in.
Your CRP, your Employee Savings Investment Plan (ESIP) balance, and your Social Security claiming age work as a system. Pulling one lever changes the tax picture and the income stability of the others.
A direct rollover defers tax and avoids the mandatory withholding on a cash distribution. The choice between cash, IRA rollover, or rolling into your ESIP isn't paperwork — it's a multi-year tax decision.
The annuity payout form you choose affects your spouse for the rest of their life. Healthcare bridging until Medicare, beneficiary designations, and how the decision flows through your estate plan all sit on the same election.
An 8-page decision framework that walks through the nine factors that should actually drive your CRP election — longevity, the rate environment, inflation, survivor needs, taxes, and the rest — and how each maps onto the Chevron plan specifically.
We aren't affiliated with Chevron, and that's the point. We don't sell pension products, we don't earn commission on which path you choose, and we have no incentive to push you in any direction except the one your numbers point to.
We're paid by clients, not by product manufacturers. That alignment is the foundation of every recommendation we make — including the recommendation to do nothing when that's the right answer.
We've walked many Chevron employees through the CRP election, ESIP rollover decisions, and the "When You Leave" process. We know which questions to ask and which deadlines move which numbers.
The CRP election doesn't live in isolation. We coordinate it with Social Security timing, Roth conversion windows, healthcare bridging, and your broader retirement income plan — so the whole picture works, not just one piece.
Offices in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. We meet clients in person when they want to, and we know the California tax landscape that follows you into retirement.
Download the whitepaper to think through the decision on your own, or book a call and we'll walk through it together. Either way, the next step is yours.
Advisory services offered through Foronjy Financial LLC.
Foronjy Financial is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Chevron or any Chevron entity. Foronjy Financial has experience working with the retirement plans of many Chevron employees as independent, individual clients and is familiar with the Chevron Retirement Plan (CRP) and Employee Savings Investment Plan (ESIP); however, this familiarity does not imply any corporate relationship or endorsement.
The materials and any whitepaper referenced on this page are provided for educational purposes only and are general in nature. They do not constitute personalized investment, tax, legal, or retirement advice, nor a recommendation to elect any particular pension option. Plan provisions, payout options, actuarial factors, and applicable interest rates change over time and vary by individual. The Chevron plan documents and Summary Plan Description, together with the plan administrator, govern your actual benefits in all cases. Please consult your own qualified financial advisor, tax professional, and the plan administrator before making any election. This material may be considered advertising under applicable rules.