PGA Tour Champions players slam pension elimination: 'It's actually criminal'

October 14, 2026

Veteran PGA Tour Champions players have expressed outrage over the Tour’s abrupt elimination of their pension fund, which had previously provided critical financial support since 1985. The program, which began with a $250,000 allocation and was last reduced from $10 million to $8 million in 2023, has now been entirely cut, leaving longtime competitors like Billy Andrade, a three-time Champions Tour winner, calling the move 'criminal.' Andrade and others, including David Toms—a former PGA Tour policy board member and 2001 PGA Championship winner—highlighted the disparity between the Tour’s generous prize money for younger players and the abrupt withdrawal of pension funds for those who helped build the sport.

Scott McCarron, another former player, condemned the decision as 'terrible,' directly blaming PGA Tour leadership, including Commissioner Jay Monahan and CEO Brian Rolapp, for prioritizing new initiatives over the financial security of Champions players. The pension’s suspension in 2020 during the pandemic had temporarily redistributed funds through two $3 million events, but the latest move marks its permanent removal, despite the program’s long-standing role in supporting players transitioning into their 50s and beyond.

PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady defended the decision, arguing the tour now operates independently and aims to reinvest profits into its own growth, though players remain skeptical of the long-term viability of this approach without guaranteed retirement benefits.