With the current program, you can earn status and benefits that are both conferred in the following year.

In the new program, you earn status that will be conferred in the following year. While you have status, you have zero benefits until earned and need to keep earning your benefits and in doing so you earns status for the following year but no benefits until re-earned.

Need to reprogram my thinking to Status will not equal Benefits as it does now.

2026 will see much the same amount of people with status as 2025.
2027 will be less, then as all the banked SE years get used up, less and less.