The Pension Time Bomb

[dArKeR]

The top corporate pension plans lost more than $100 billion in assets last year. At companies where retirees ounumber workers, that’s a formula for failure

The pension time bomb is ticking—and could ultimately explode in a savings-and-loan-like crisis. An aging workforce and the collapse of the stock market have combined to create massive underfunding of traditional corporate pensions. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the government agency that insures these pensions, estimates the underfunding at $300 billion, a total that was only $23 billion as recently as 1999.

 FOR THE president and Congress, the underfunding poses a huge dilemma. Forcing companies to raise pension contributions too quickly could harm the fragile economy by making it harder for businesses to increase investment in new plants and equipment. But lax pension rules could worsen the underfunding and lead to a congressional bailout of the PBGC costing tens of billions of dollars or more. The savings and loans rescue cost about $150 billion, says the Congressional Budget Office.

http://msnbc.com/news/939957.asp?0cl=c1

Formula to destroy America: Add and mix:
1. Bush Crime Family
2. Radical elements from Israel
3. Lying American Media
(Insanity and Al Qaeda ingrediants not needed to add to mix, already included in above ingrediants.)

http://darkerxdarker.tripod.com/

[duid12]

1. S&L crisis...you aint seen nothing

I have been talking up this problem for over one year now to people I know. The potential(likely imo) pension crisis will make the S&L crisis look like a walk in the park compared to the coming pension crisis...it aint gonna be pretty.

If you really want to scare yourself, do some more research into this issue and its implications for the economy and the country over the next 20-30 years...downright scary. The ONLY thing that is going to forestall this crisis is a HUGE and sustained upturn in the stock market for over the next 20 or so years (which isn't likely), and even if that does happen, it will only postpone the problem, not solve it...its all a huge pyramid scheme that is having its foundation knocked out from under it...

[duid12]

2. Bush's fix

If you read the article you'll see that in order to help the problem,the Bush administation has to make a choice...either force corporations to make bigger contributions to the pension plans in order to make sure they will be able to pay all the benefits they have promised...which will help the retirees, but hurt the corporations, or else relax the pension rules that will then help the corporations and hurt the retirees...gee, wonder which route they will take?...anyone?

[SoCalDem]

3. The GLUT of money put into these funds

and social security (by the boomer generation) far exceeded what was needed.. The "managers" skimmed the excess off, instead of putting it in a secure place to be in reserve for the PEOPLE WHO PAID IT...

So, just as the boomers have paid higher prices for almost everything we have wanted/needed.. just as we have worked the most hours per week since the robber baron days...as we reached adulthood, the "rising income" stopped.. Sure a few did rise to the top levels, but in terms of real earning power, our incomes have been stagnant or even retreated since the 70's.. we got stuck with 15% interest on our first homes... we have endured at least 3 recessions... we have funded the oldsters of today (most of whom DO have pensions AND some have MULTIPLE pensions)...

we are the sandwich generation.. we are caring for (supporting) the ones ahead of us, and often the ones after us as well..

Fear not.. once we are gone, everything will be hunky dory.. some of the youngsters forget that we have been paying into a system for 40 some years, and just as we see the "finish line", they start moving it away from us..:(

The "greatest generation" have been the ones who have benefitted the most in the twentieth/twenty first century..
Sure they had the "big war", but they were children during the depression, and other than being poor, they personally did ok.. Their parents were the ones who suffered..
The GG had the GI Bill (cheap/free college).. they had the $1.00 down and buy a house deals.. They had the cheap cars..They built their wealth during a time when money was worth something.. They had union jobs,they had pension plans..

I know several older people who have a military pension, a civil service pension, a local/state pension AND social security..

For the little that they put in, they have reaped the benefits many times over, courtesy of the boomers...

so instead of setting some aside for us, the government has been very generous with "our money" and when we do reach whatever age the end up for us to start collecting, not only will most of us be pensionless, our social security benfits will be "pared down"..

The boomer retirement years are looking kind of scary.. :(

[teryang]

5. Well said.

The boomer experience equals non stop rip off.

[brokensymmetry]

6. You're right -

On a rather ghoulish note, a fully expect to see - and, perhaps, experience - forced euthanasia. You think not? As budget deficits swell, making the current half-a-trillion level look small, and medicare costs increase, what will the pugs do about those of us then in our seventies and eighties who are sick and, hence, expensive?

[pfitz59]

9. To quote Charlton: "Its people!".........

Soylent Green!

[mumon]

7. YES YES YES YES YES...

You have articulated something that I have felt for a while, but never actually thought about enough to put into words.

NOW I know why I get pissed off whenever I hear that "lazy self centered self absorbe me generation boomers" bullshit.

Thank you.

[jody]

4. "its all a huge pyramid scheme" built on unrealistic assumptions. eom

:hi:

[MaineDem]

8. My husband has been saying this for years.

I, of course, have been ignoring him. I've been doing an ostrich impersonation when it comes to the possibility of our pensions going away. We're living on pensions and too young for social security or access to my 401K money.

This is frightening.

[dArKeR]

10. Ingredients.

Oops.

[Johnyawl]

11. Bush's answer: stock market bailout...

...with Social Security funds.

This accomplishes two things; 1)inflates the stock market, thereby saving the Corporate pension funds without costing the corporations any additional money, and rewarding the loyal corporate drones who manage to hang onto their jobs, and 2) sets the stage to finish destroying Social Security, the flagship of FDR's New Deal.

Make no mistake about it, this bunch really, really wants to undo everything that was put in place during FDR's administration.