Reply #18: looking for their performance data, finding other interesting info [View All]

[marketcrazy1]

In the US, the asset base of pension plans for the various government workers is huge. At the end of October 2008, the $4 Trillion assets held by these plans had fallen by roughly $1 Trillion. As these plans are defined-benefit plans, the governments will make efforts to fill the gap in the future years either by raising the contributions from current employees or by raising taxes. However this does not affect the social security plan since those assets are not invested in the markets.

If employers go under taking the defined-pension plans with them, then the Federal agency Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) guarantees payment to plan participants. However this creates a huge liability for the federal government.

According to a Mercer study in the US, the pension plans of the S&P 1500 companies have lost half a Trillion $ in 2008, of which 80% was lost in the last quarter.