Retirement planning in Memphis, FedEx pensions included.
Households in Memphis, Germantown and Collierville can plan Social Security, withdrawals and Roth conversions with Robert Boeck by Zoom from Chattanooga. At FedEx, most pension benefits build up in a cash balance account you take as a lump sum or as monthly income, so the plan weighs both.
What does it cost to retire in Memphis, Germantown or Collierville?
All three cities charge 9.75% sales tax, the state’s 7% plus 2.75% local, and 6.75% on groceries. Property tax differs more. The combined 2025 rate per $100 of assessed value was $5.2708 in Memphis, $4.48 in Germantown and $4.31 in Collierville, and each applies to 25% of a home’s appraised value. A home appraised near each city’s median value pays about $2,230 a year in Memphis ($169,000), $5,280 in Germantown ($471,000) and $5,240 in Collierville ($486,000).
Shelby County, Memphis and Collierville have each adopted the property tax freeze for homeowners 65 or older, under a 2026 income limit of $63,470; Germantown has not.
Germantown is the oldest of the three: 24.2% of its residents were 65 or older in the Census Bureau’s survey for 2020 to 2024, against 14.4% in Memphis and 16.0% in Collierville. In Shelby County, 123,620 people drew Social Security retirement benefits in December 2025, averaging about $2,046 a month (Social Security Administration county totals, our arithmetic).
Whatever your employer, the plan covers when each spouse claims Social Security, the order you draw your accounts, Roth conversions before required distributions and the Medicare surcharge thresholds. An average check here comes to about $24,550 a year; savings cover the spending above it, and the order you draw them in sets the tax.
What do FedEx employees decide at retirement?
You decide how to take your Portable Pension Account. FedEx’s annual report says the account is “payable as a lump sum or an annuity at retirement at the election of the employee.” It grows with yearly credits based on your pay, age and years of service, plus interest at a rate tied to a U.S. Treasury index.
Earlier changes may apply to you. FedEx capped its older formula, based on average earnings and years of service, on May 31, 2008, for most employees. In 2021, employees still earning pension credits chose between keeping them, with a 401(k) match of up to 3.5%, and giving them up for a 401(k) match of up to 8%. FedEx Freight employees moved to a pension plan of their own on June 1, 2026, and the pilots’ contract ratified that June changed their pension terms, so check which plan covers you.
The lump sum question stays open until you retire, and the answer on pension lump sums works through what each choice gives up. FedEx is the largest employer in the Memphis metro, with 32,333 employees there in 2025 by the Memphis Chamber’s count.
What do executives at the headquarters here decide?
Executives here decide payout dates: a deferred compensation payout lands in the tax year you chose when you elected to defer, and moving it later takes at least 12 months’ notice and a new date at least five years out. Vesting, trading windows and concentrated stock are on the page for public company executives.
In the Census Bureau’s survey for 2020 to 2024, the median household earned $149,920 a year in Germantown and $138,598 in Collierville, against $51,736 in Memphis. Headquarters here include FedEx, AutoZone and International Paper in Memphis, MAA in Germantown and Mueller Industries in Collierville. International Paper froze its U.S. salaried pension from January 1, 2019, though benefits earned through 2018 still count.
What about Tennessee and Mississippi taxes?
On the Tennessee side, wages, a FedEx pension, 401(k) withdrawals and Social Security all escape state income tax, and the Chattanooga page covers what else the state’s rules change.
Across the state line, Mississippi taxes wages at 4% above the first $10,000 of taxable income for 2026, and exempts Social Security and income from retirement systems and IRAs, though not early or excess distributions. So in Southaven or Olive Branch a paycheck carries state tax and a pension does not.
Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, Franklin, Tullahoma and Crossville
Pages for the other Tennessee areas cover what is specific there: Chattanooga, where Robert is based, for the state’s tax rules; Knoxville, for TVA’s pension; Nashville, for TCRS, the state’s pension; Franklin and Brentwood, for executive pay at the headquarters there; Tullahoma and Manchester, for federal pensions around Arnold Air Force Base; and Crossville and Fairfield Glade, for drawing an income in retirement.
Questions from Memphis
Ready to Build Your Retirement Income Roadmap?
A complimentary 30-minute consultation to assess your retirement readiness and identify your highest-value planning opportunities.
No sales pitch. No product recommendations. A genuine conversation about your retirement readiness.