Pensions

The government agency that insures the private pensions of 44.4 million workers said Monday that its deficit more than doubled in 2004 to a record $23.3 billion, prompting both Republicans and Democrats in Congress to renew calls for action to shore up the system. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said that as of Sept. 30, it had $39 billion in assets to cover $62.3 billion in pension liabilities. The $23.3-billion deficit was more than twice the $11.

Enron Corp. has asked the court overseeing its bankruptcy case to block the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.'s efforts to take over four of the energy giant's retirement plans. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Enron accused the federal agency of frustrating its reorganization efforts and usurping the Bankruptcy Court's authority to consider claims against the firm. "The PBGC is attempting to accomplish in the U.S.

City Councilwoman Jan Perry has cultivated a reputation during the campaign for mayor of Los Angeles for talking tougher on budget reform than the other city officials - Councilman Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel - running for City Hall's top job. Perry appeared to intensify that fiscally hawkish stance last week when asked if new city employees should be moved away from guaranteed-benefit pensions that current workers enjoy. She answered "yes. " In a campaign in which employee unions will wield considerable clout, it seemed like a watershed moment.

During and after World War II, more and more major U.S. corporations began to make a pact with their employees that was utterly sacrosanct: When a worker retired, he would be handed a pension based on a percentage of the money earned during his career -- no ifs, ands or buts. Six decades later -- and more than three years into an unrelenting bear market -- that once-inviolable arrangement appears ready to crumble.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday took the first step in what is expected to be a long and cumbersome process of scaling back pension benefits that have cost taxpayers $265 million. The vote, after a blistering report by a citizens panel, was the first acknowledgment by the board that the controversial county pension plan needed reform. The county's unusual pension rules had earlier been criticized by the grand jury, the state Legislature, Gov.

Having already dramatically cut the pensions of Bell's two former top officials, the state retirement system has sliced their retirement checks further, ruling they are not entitled to five years' worth of credit they bought for themselves with city funds. Robert Rizzo, Bell's former chief administrative officer, and Angela Spaccia, the former assistant chief administrative officer, were sent letters by the California Public Employees' Retirement System on June 6, notifying them of the decision.

Two approaches to 401(k) reform are emerging from Congress after months of hearings spurred by the Enron Corp. debacle, which saw thousands of workers lose the bulk of their retirement savings when the energy trader filed for bankruptcy protection. One proposal, which could be voted on by the House next month, encourages more disclosure and investment advice to workers with 401(k) retirement plans.

Alberta Martin, possibly the only living Confederate widow, learned this week that Alabama has agreed to renew her Confederate widow's pension and a supplement, 64 years after she became ineligible for the aid because she remarried. Martin, 89, will get a monthly check of $335. She was a 21-year-old widow with a young son in 1927 when she married 82-year-old William Jasper Martin, who had been a Confederate Army private. He died at age 87 in 1932.

The head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission promised a broad review of new pension plans that critics contend violate age discrimination laws. "We want to hear from all stakeholders in order to reach fair conclusions" about "cash-balance" pension plans, EEOC Chairwoman Ida Castro said. "We intend to meet with and receive feedback from the employer, labor and civil rights communities." Castro met Tuesday with Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.

Accounting rule makers may change how companies must account for pension income and expenses, as pension assets pummeled by tumbling stock markets burn a hole in corporate pocketbooks. The Financial Accounting Standards Board, which sets accounting rules for U.S. companies, will discuss whether to improve pension accounting rules in upcoming meetings with its advisory arm, Chairman Robert Herz said this week.