50 Retiree Plans Said to Be Short by $14 Billion
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Pensions Said to Be Billions Short: The nation’s 50 largest under-funded pension plans have a potential combined shortfall of more than $14 billion, the government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said. The National Assn. of Manufacturers called the listing “misleading and potentially damaging.” The agency, which guarantees payments on private-sector pension plans that fail, said the firms on the list were not necessarily in poor financial health or guilty of failing to properly fund their pension plans. However, it said, some of the plans are linked with financially weak firms that do pose a risk to the pension guarantee fund.
“Over 50% of the under-funding (plans) on this list are either probable or possible losses,” said James Lockhart, executive director of the agency. And that, he said, “presents us with some serious concerns.”
The manufacturers association complained that the list “sows unnecessary fears and concerns.”
“It suggests, wrongly, that the security of retirement benefits is in jeopardy,” said the group’s senior vice president, Michael Baroody.
The group also complained that the agency was using outdated information.
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