Death of pensions looms large.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Pensions from companies and the federal government - Brief article

The largest generation in American history is starting to retire, wreaking havoc with our economy from two different directions, predicts Harry S. Dent, Jr., founder and president of the HS Dent Foundation. In his "Death of Pensions" report, he warns that the level of payments promised to future retirees cannot possibly be paid, affecting not only private sector workers, but civil servants. According to Dent, the effects of this situation will cause private and public pensions to lower benefits, as well as drive state and local governments to raise taxes in an effort to pay what they have promised. At the same time, Dent estimates that slower spending by aging Baby Boomers will cause an economic slump after 2010, compounding an already difficult situation.

"It is a fact that U.S. companies absolutely cannot pay all of the pension and health care benefits that they have promised to their workers," Dent states. "The statistics barely skim the surface. While the number of underfunded plans is startling, the degree to which some are unfunded is staggering."

To understand the scope of the problem, Dent examines General Motors as a case in point. Today, GM has almost $100,000,000,000 in its pension fund, but the company is underfunded by more than $7,000,000,000--and that does not include retiree health benefits, which totally are unfunded...