Pension Problems

Not good:

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) – The federal agency that provides a safety net for U.S. corporate pension funds said on Thursday that its deficit had more than tripled last year, to a record $11.2 billion.

The U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which insures the pensions of about 44 million Americans, had started fiscal 2003 with a $3.6 billion deficit. Executive Director Steven Kandarian said the growing red ink threatened the agency’s ability to protect pensions in the future.

This is a problem that’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Expect US taxpayers to pony up several tens of billions of dollars to fund these pensions over the next decade.

Kash