Will Your Pension Be Wall Street's Next Casualty?

[eridani]

http://www.alternet.org/story/143555/will_your_pension_be_wall_street%27s_next_casualty

Nobody wants to admit it, but the next casualty of the Wall Street meltdown will probably be your golden years. For years corporations have been trying to choke the life out of traditional pensions, working hard to get out from under the risk—and the cost—of providing for their retirees. Between last year’s credit crunch and changes to federal pension laws, they may get their wish.

Nearly $4 trillion worth of retirement savings were wiped out in the first weeks of the 2008 financial freefall. Half of the drop was concentrated in traditional pension plans, also known as defined-benefit plans. While most workers in these plans haven’t had their monthly benefits cut, unlike the 46 million people riding the stock market with 401(k) defined-contribution plans, the storm clouds are gathering.

Labor needs a strategy to protect what we’ve won. But holding our ground requires moving from defense to offense. If the pension crisis is going to be solved for union members, it has to be solved for everyone.

[Buzz Clik]

1. It's been one the fears of a lot of people who pay attention and think

Despite the tendency of many here at DU to cheer the demise of every US capitalists institution, a very large segment of this country is or will be living off their investments.

[HillbillyBob]

7. You are mistaken , We wish for the demise of the greedy, thieving, unrestrained

and un regulated capitalists like the ones that clean out our retirement accounts after paying in for years then when it is time to retire finds we hve been fucked over. Like My MIL worked for Household Finance from about 1965 to 1994 and then was told well with the mergers your retirement fund has been absorbed in financial considerations,, meaning they fucking stole it.
Don't generalize when you don't know what you are talking about.

I won't be living off of investments either after the ATC union was killed I worked my ass off doing shit jobs, when I did have retirement coming to me i was always cheated. So frankly the crapitalists should decorate the nearest streetlights with a nice bit of hemp as their going away present.
If they actually worked or made something instead of running a casino on wall street there might be some reason to defend them, but there isn't and therefore no reason to defend them and since you want to generalize I can too. They are worthless eaters who steal from us 'little people' so they can live fat and happy and we have to scramble to make ends meet and have to work more than one job to keep the kids fed and the lights on.

I am no high school drop out, I was an air traffic controller in the navy.
I have a degree in electronics, but doing the same job for less f in $ every year instead of a raise we get pay cuts. Our house hold is managing on 40% of what we were earning in 1999, I am now disabled from an on the job injury when i was an electrician and other things, which I would not likely have been disabled if insurance and prior employer had not screwed me yet again. I would likely still be at work.

[barbtries]

2. finally at the age of 52

i got my first 401k. i believe it was already hit once during the crisis, and sadly enough i don't really expect much for my so-called golden years, which are fast approaching. hopefully there will be something there to help get my son through college?

[eridani]

3. Does your company offer a conservative Stable Value fund?

If so, go for it. They invest in what is least likely to lose money. I pulled all of my stocks and such out in 2/08, and wound up with a 0.5% net gain for the year. Would have been a little more, but I forgot to reallocate company stocks after that, and they tanked.

[barbtries]

6. i think that's part of my mix nt

i've done fairly well this year with it...

[unlawflcombatnt]

10. Treasury Bond Fund TRUSX

My wife pulled all of her 401K out of stocks and put it into TRUSX--a 100% Treasury bond fund that rises when yields fall, and Treasury prices increase. Over the last 2 years, when the stock market went down (still down over 30%), TRUSX increased over +10%.

[wuvuj]

12. Ask her what she'll do if rates begin to rise?

...

[glowing]

4. What pension?

[intheflow]

11. No kidding!

I've never had one, have a 401k with about $2000 in it, certainly no where near a retirement income.

[doc03]

5. I had one pension dumped on the PBGC

back in 1985, another DB pension that is underfunded and a DC plan that is underfunded. My concern is if the government will bail out the PBGC. After all the spending we have had bailing out banks I expect a lot of opposition to bailing out the PBGC. For one that a--hole Lieberman always pops up when we really need a vote. That jackass must know where all the bodies in Washington are buried, that's the only explanation I can see for him still being around. What was Al Gore thinking when he picked that a--hole?

[roamer65]

8. They're going to trash the dollar next, so most savings will be wiped out soon.

Any dollar denominated assets are going to take a big hit when the currency crisis comes. We will pay for these wars and bailouts either through taxes or currency depreciation.

[flyarm]

9. welcome to the NWO!