– Shoring Up Pensions

Last updated on: November 16, 2005 at 11:56 pm by Desh Kapoor

– Shoring Up Pensions 2005-11-16T23:56:42-06:00 Desh Kapoor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Pension shortfall is a BIG issue in the US.. with the impending Baby Boomer returements looming on the horizon.. and companies like Delphi and GM getting the heat (Delphi went bankrupt on that issue) – taking longer to fix this problem will be catastrophic on the US economy!

Hoping to reverse the deterioration of pension plans covering 44 million Americans, the Senate voted Wednesday to force companies to make up underfunding estimated at $450 billion and live up to promises made to employees.

The action came a day after the federal agency that insures such plans reported massive liabilities and predicted a troubled future.

The Senate legislation, passed 97-2, takes on the daunting task of compelling companies with defined-benefit plans to live up to their funding obligations — without driving those companies into abandoning the plans and further eroding the retirement benefits of millions of people.

“This bill honors a promise that we made way back in 1974” when Congress passed legislation to protect pensions, said Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. “If you’ve been promised a pension, we are going to make sure that you receive it.”

Broad support of the bill reflected its bipartisan origins. Grassley and the top Democrat on the committee, Max Baucus of Montana, crafted it with Sens. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

The White House, in a statement, said it supported passage of the Senate bill but opposed some provisions, including extended relief for the airline industry. It warned that the president would be advised to veto any bill that resulted in weakening pension funding requirements.

The House could take up a companion bill in early December, although it remains to be seen whether the two chambers can reach a compromise on the legislation, which runs hundreds of pages, by the end of the year.

The vote came a day after the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which insures defined-benefit plans of 44 million people and takes over the plans of bankrupt companies, reported a deficit of $22.8 billion at the end of the 2005 fiscal year on Sept. 30.

The PBGC said it assumed responsibility for the pension benefits of an additional 235,000 workers and retirees in 2005, bringing the total to 1.3 million, and paid benefits of $3.7 billion, up from $3 billion in 2004.

Premiums per participant, paid by companies, totaled $1.5 billion. Those premiums would increase from $19 to $30 a year under the Senate bill.

That legislation, unlike the House version, also would extend special relief for debt-ridden airlines. Bankrupt steel and airline companies have been a major source of the PBGC’s mounting financial problems.

The PBGC is now financed entirely by premiums and interest on investments, but there is growing concern that the agency may one day have to turn to taxpayers for a bailout that could rival the Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s.

… read more

Economics

Previous Post

November 16, 2005

- Pakistan 'needs $5.2bn quake aid'

Next Post

November 16, 2005 - Meditate on This: Buddhist Tradition Thickens Parts of the Brain

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Aarti Achievement and Leadership AfPak Africa Annual and Year-end Asia Audio Australia Behavioural Sciences Bhagwad Gita Bhagwad Gita Blogging Blogs Business Business Intelligence Business Strategy Cannes Careers Chanakya China Conservation Corruption Creative Daily Links Desh Poems Development & Welfare Devotional Audio Devotional Songs Drama Earth Economics Education Entertainment Environment Europe Everyday Quotes Featured Articles Featured Songs Finance Flickr Pictures Food Geo-Political Global Warming Globalization Health & Medicine Hinduism Historic History Humour India Indian Culture Indian music Indian Weddings Israel Issues Legal Link Love Minorities Misc Motivation and Personal Development Movie Lists Movie Reviews Movies Mumbai terror attacks Natural Disasters Nature News Outsourcing Pakistan Parenting Personal Philosophy Poetry Politics Poverty Quotes Recipe Regular Blog Post Relationships Religion Religious/Spiritual Audio Sciences Showcase Slideshow South Asia Special Stories Spiritual Quotes Spirituality Sports Stories Strategy Technology Technology Terrorism Travel Uncategorized US Video Women Women_s Rights Worship Yoga

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 September 2014 August 2014 January 2014 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who is the "chosen lady" addressed in a New Testament letter?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Unspecified church Phoebe Lydia Mary