Getting your player ready...
Not only have workers’ 401(k) savings taken a beating, but so have their pension plans. At least, for those lucky enough to still be covered.
Unlike 401(k)s, which workers manage themselves, employers handle the load for pension plans. Each year, companies measure their pensions’ assets — cash, bonds, stock — against their liabilities — current and expected obligations.
Companies in the S&P 500 enjoyed a surplus in 2007 for the first time since 2001. Last year, though, the tanking stock market brought them back to underfunded status.
The Associated Press
