Whoops! There Goes Another Pension Plan - New York Times

Industrial America is in a terrible bind and with it the retirees of those companies that are undergoing bankruptcy and restructuring.

We have a failed system that enables people to make extraordinary profits and bonuses while the government, and perhaps eventually the taxpayers, is left to pick up the pensions and benefits of the retirees.

Even more perverse is the idea that healthy companies with solid pension plans may be required to pay higher premiums into the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to bail out those companies that have failed to provide for the benefits of their retirees and employees.

One lesson that's clear, defined benefit pension plans and guaranteed health benefits for retirees are dead in large corporations. They simply cannot afford the financial liabilities involved.