Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health plans to freeze its pension plan at the end of 2026 and shift affected employees to a 401(k)-based retirement program.
The system said the decision is driven by ongoing financial pressures, including lower government reimbursement, inflation and market volatility. Intermountain’s board of trustees announced the change Jan. 20, saying it supports “both Intermountain’s long-term stability and the retirement security for current and past caregivers.”
The pension plan was initiated in 1975 and closed to new hires in 2020. About one-third of Intermountain’s roughly 68,000 caregivers currently participate in the plan, according to the health system.
Intermountain said caregivers will not lose pension benefits they have already earned. Those benefits are protected in a trust and backed by federal law. Caregivers will continue earning pension benefits through Dec. 31, 2026, after which no new pension benefits will accrue.
Intermountain told Deseret News that some funds previously allocated to the pension plan will be redirected to employee benefits, including a new 2% automatic contribution to affected caregivers’ 401(k) plans and the creation of a retiree medical savings account.
The move aligns with a broader shift away from defined-benefit pensions across healthcare. Intermountain said 97% of healthcare organizations now rely on 401(k)-based retirement plans.
Other health systems have taken similar steps in recent years. For example, St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare said in 2025 it would eliminate its pension plan as part of a transition to a unified benefits package following its merger with Kansas City, Mo.-based St. Luke’s Health System.
Intermountain’s announcement has raised concerns among some employees. KSL NewsRadio reported Jan. 27 that several caregivers expressed concern about the timing and impact of the change.
Intermountain operates more than 30 hospitals and more than 400 clinics across six Western states.
