Attention, voters.

'Over and over again, America's seniors are being
told they must foot the bill for fiscal failures which
have already left them facing a weakened and
tenuous retirement. In Detroit, a bankruptcy judge
has ruled the city can cut pension payments to
thousands of retirees, despite a state law stating
otherwise. In Washington, the latest Congressional
budget deal targets retirees with $12 billion in
pension changes, including cutting pensions for
military personnel who retire in 2015 and requiring
new federal workers to contribute more to their
retirement. All of this couldn't come at a worse time.
Three decades of stagnant middle-class incomes,
disappearing pensions, limited ability to start and
maintain personal savings, and the failure of the
401K experiment lay the foundation for a retirement
crisis that could further threaten millions of older
Americans and their families.' -- Max Richtman,
President and CEO, National Committee to Preserve
Social Security and Medicare Social Security and Medicare

Clip File: Pensions -- The Next Casualty of Wall Street

"Nobody wants to admit it, but the next casualty of the Wall Street meltdown will probably be your golden years. For years corporations have been trying to choke the life out of traditional pensions, working hard to get out from under the risk-and the cost-of providing for their retirees. Between last year's credit crunch and changes to federal pension laws, they may get their wish.

"Nearly $4 trillion worth of retirement savings were wiped out in the first weeks of the 2008 financial freefall. Half of the drop was concentrated in traditional pension plans, also known as defined-benefit plans. While most workers in these plans haven't had their monthly benefits cut, unlike the 46 million people riding the stock market with 401(k) defined-contribution plans, the storm clouds are gathering."

The rest of the story: Pensions -- The Next Casualty of Wall Street by Mark Brenner (Labor Notes 2009-10-23)