Underfunded Pensions Double in U.S.
1 hour, 49 minutes ago
Thursday, 4 September 2003
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Underfunded pension liabilities at troubled U.S. companies doubled this fiscal year, and could exceed $80 billion with airlines accounting for nearly a third of the deficit, the government said on Thursday.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. also told Congress its deficit has grown to $5.7 billion as of July 31. The deficit for the entire fiscal year ending Sept. 30 last year was $3.6 billion. This gives the U.S. agency less money to bail out any troubled company retirement plans.
Airlines, including bankrupt United Airlines Corp., have an underfunded liability of $26 billion, unchanged from April, the agency's executive director, Steven Kandarian, told a House of Representatives hearing.
Kandarian said the underfunded liabilities he cited represent companies that have serious financial problems, including poor investment ratings.
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