Ramsey, all,
Japanese employees were guaranteed 5.5%, then it was 5% GIC for their pension plans (I too am going by memory here, but its in the ballpark). Only in the past year or so have they started to lower them, as they finally stopped believing that their problems were short term. This thread discussed this a couple of months ago, I think, when various companies lowered them to around 2-3%. Still very high by Japanese standards. Reality slowly closing in. Inch by inch.
US companies are better off, though, since so many of them have gone to 401Ks over the past decade, and actually closed their old defined benefit programs. |
