Disappearing Pension Plans

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In the past, Americans worked most of their adult life for one company. In retirement their earned pension repays that loyalty by taking care of retirees through old age. Today, the cold reality is that many of those pension agreements aren't worth the paper they're written on. Changes in bankruptcy laws have made it easier for companies from airlines to automakers to shed pension obligations, robbing employees of the power to sue a company to enforce retirement promises. Some bankruptcy legal experts foresee the day when literally every business in America will try to dodge pension plans. Coupled with escalating healthcare costs, will the loss of retirement pensions turn millions of retirees toward poverty instead of security? Diana Nyad guest hosts.Making News: Hussein Trial Reconvenes and Postpones for a WeekToday, Saddam Hussein's trial for alleged crimes against humanity was postponed for another week. Two of the defense lawyers for the former Iraqi leader have been assassinated and a plot to kill the judge has been revealed. Howard LaFranchi, who covers foreign affairs for the Christian Science Monitor, has an update on the volatile climate that permeates the trial.Reporter's Notebook: Climate Talks to Be Most Significant since KyotoWhen the Kyoto Agreement went into effect last February, the US was sole country that refused to ratify the protocol. Today in Montreal, the United Nations convenes a 10-day climate change conference where greenhouse emissions will again be center stage. But the Bush Administration is refusing to follow international guidelines, insisting they'll set their own emissions standards. Martin Mittelstaedt covers the environment for Canada's Globe and Mail.
In the past, Americans worked most of their adult life for one company. In retirement their earned pension repays that loyalty by taking care of retirees through old age. Today, the cold reality is that many of those pension agreements aren't worth the paper they're written on. Changes in bankruptcy laws have made it easier for companies from airlines to automakers to shed pension obligations, robbing employees of the power to sue a company to enforce retirement promises. Some bankruptcy legal experts foresee the day when literally every business in America will try to dodge pension plans. Coupled with escalating healthcare costs, will the loss of retirement pensions turn millions of retirees toward poverty instead of security? Diana Nyad guest hosts.
  • Making News: Hussein Trial Reconvenes and Postpones for a Week
    Today, Saddam Hussein's trial for alleged crimes against humanity was postponed for another week. Two of the defense lawyers for the former Iraqi leader have been assassinated and a plot to kill the judge has been revealed. Howard LaFranchi, who covers foreign affairs for the Christian Science Monitor, has an update on the volatile climate that permeates the trial.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Climate Talks to Be Most Significant since Kyoto
    When the Kyoto Agreement went into effect last February, the US was sole country that refused to ratify the protocol. Today in Montreal, the United Nations convenes a 10-day climate change conference where greenhouse emissions will again be center stage. But the Bush Administration is refusing to follow international guidelines, insisting they'll set their own emissions standards. Martin Mittelstaedt covers the environment for Canada's Globe and Mail.
Guest host Diana Nyad, 2002 inductee into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, is a business sports columnist for Marketplace, senior sports correspondent for Fox News, and has hosted her own show on CNBC. She's also the author of three books.

Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC)

United Nations Convention on Climate Change

UN Climate Change Conference

Mittelstaedt-s article on rise of Canadian greenhouse gasses

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney