General Electric Co. said Thursday it plans to increase pension benefit payments to more than 130,000 of its retirees from Dec. 1, 2007.

The plan, which provides most to those who have been retired longest, will make payments for the rest of their lives to eligible retirees who left the company before June 1, 2003. The company said the increases will range from 10% to 20% for many of those retired before 1993. It did not estimate the overall cost of the enhanced pension plan. Retired GE executives are not included in the plan.

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