自从2005年5月10日一位审理破产案件的法官允许联合航空公司不履行其养老金计划以来，各种类型公司里的员工们都开始怀疑他们的养老金是否还有保证。好消息是：可能是的。
养老金计划说明
联合公司的案例适用于传统的固定领取养老金计划，它可以保证职工在退休后每月有固定的收入。当象联合公司这样的雇主发生财政危机无法支付养老金时，养老金担保集团(PBGC)作为一个政府机构通常会接管而继续支付养老金。
那些已停止履行养老金计划的公司的大部分职工最终都是从养老金担保集团获得了养老金的全额支出。在2005年接管的项目中，养老金担保集团将在这一年向六十五岁退休的人们支付共计45,614美元（提前退休人员的总金额将会略低）。如果每年支付的养老金比这个数额要低，那么接受者仍然会收到他所预期的全额养老金。根据职工福利研究协会(EBRI)的数据，养老金的平均支付金额现在仅有14,000美元。
无论如何，很多人都不必担心传统的养老金。取而代之的是现在越来越多的雇主开始提供象401k这样的固定缴费（不是固定领取）退休计划。这些类型的计划要求你存入你的雇主相对应的税前货币。直到你退休后支取该基金的时候你都不必支付税款。你负责你的投资选择以及赢利或亏损；你的雇主已经彻底脱身了，即使该帐户的钱亏损都与他无关。根据职工福利研究协会的数据，在1991年，两千六百一十万人参加了固定支取计划，而有三千零四十万人已经参加了固定缴费计划。
当涉及到人们期待的未来利益时，参加了固定缴费计划的人们不必担心他们雇主的财政健康状况。401k和其他类似计划里面的钱已经被设定了保障供你使用，并且你的雇主要动用它是非法的。
保护你的财政前景
即使在你的退休金是安全的情况下，这也是一个很好的机会来检查一下你的存款计划，并且确认你不是在依赖可能永远不会出现的钱。这里是一些可以采取的简单的步骤：
•位于弗吉尼亚州麦克林的Monitor集团中经认证的财政计划员Ken Robinson建议你找出可能存在危险的养老金，特别是当你就职于有麻烦的汽车、航空、钢铁行业。他的几个客户是联合航空公司和其他航空公司已退休的飞行员，他在帮助他们计算当养老金担保集团接管他们公司的养老金计划之后他们是否会有所损失。他说：“在这种情况下，这是很困难的，因为你一直在为一项固定的养老金做计划。”这样一来，客户们就需要往他们的养老金帐户里投放更多的钱来填补空缺。
•在做退休计划的时候，不要依赖那些你并不确定能拿到的钱。雇主们通常都会发给你一份年度报告，显示如果你在今天离职和如果你一直为公司工作到六十五岁时你在退休后所能拿到的养老金数额。位于新泽西州的Paramus公司中经认证的财政计划员Reed Fraasa建议主要关注第一栏里面你现在就离职所能拿到的钱数。毕竟你可能被裁员或者决定换另一份工作，或者你的雇主可能冻结他的养老金计划而且不再参加新的养老金计划。Fraasa说：“我们不会使用计划中的养老金，那只是一个良好的愿望。我们注重你已经拥有的那一部分。”
•保护你自己。即使你可以得到一大笔养老金，在你控制的帐户里尽可能存入更多的钱仍然有很大帮助。最大限度地在你的401k帐户中投资，特别是你有雇主配合的情况下，在你的Roth或传统IRA帐户里投资（两个帐户都投，限额是2005年为4,000美元，五十岁及以上为4,500美元）。如果你能够负担存入更多，在拥有自由职业收入的情况下设立一个小型商业退休金计划，或者投资一个你计划长期使用的可纳税帐户。
Is Your Retirement Money at Risk?Since May 10, 2005, when a bankruptcy judge let United Airlines default on its pension plan, employees at all types of companies have started to wonder whether their retirement money is safe. The good news: It probably is.
Retirement Plans ExplainedThe United case applies to traditional defined-benefit pension plans, which guarantee workers a defined monthly income after they retire. When employers like United run into financial troubles and can no longer afford to pay benefits, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), a government agency, generally takes over to guarantee payments continue.
Most workers at those companies that have defaulted on pension plans end up getting their full pension payouts from the PBGC. For plans taken over in 2005, the PBGC will pay up to $45,614 this year to people who retire at 65 (the maximum is lower for early retirees). If the annual pension payout is less than that, the recipient still receives the full amount he's been expecting from his pension. The average pension payout is currently just $14,000, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).
And many people don't need to worry about traditional pensions anyway. Instead, more employers now offer defined-contribution (not defined-benefit) retirement plans, such as 401ks. These types of plans let you contribute pretax money, which your employer may match. You won't owe taxes until you withdraw the funds when you're retired. You're responsible for your investment choices and for any gains or losses; your employer is off the hook, even if the account loses money. In 1991, 26.1 million people were covered by defined-benefit plans, while 30.4 million had defined-contribution plans. By 2003, only 21.4 million had defined-benefit plans, while 52.1 million had defined-
contribution plans, according to EBRI.
People with defined-contribution plans need not worry about their employer's financial health when it comes to their retirement nest egg. Money in 401ks and other similar plans is held in trust for you, and it's illegal for your employer to touch it.
Protect Your Financial FutureBut even if the odds are good that your retirement money is safe, this is a perfect opportunity to review your savings plans and make sure you aren't counting on money that may never appear. Here are some simple steps to take:
•Find out whether any of your pension money is at risk, especially if you work in the troubled auto, airline or steel industries, recommends Ken Robinson, a certified financial planner with The Monitor Group in McLean, Virginia. Several of his clients are retired pilots with United and other airlines, and he's helping them figure out whether they'd lose money if the PBGC took over their company's plan. "In a situation like that, it's very difficult, because you've been planning all along for a certain benefit," he says. In that case, clients need to set aside more money in their own retirement accounts to help fill any gaps.
•When planning for retirement, don't count on money you aren't guaranteed to have. Employers generally send an annual statement showing how much of a pension payout you'd receive in retirement if you left your job today and if you continued with the company until you're 65. Reed Fraasa, a certified financial planner in Paramus, New Jersey, recommends focusing primarily on that first column -?the money you'd get if you left right now. After all, you could be laid off or decide to switch to another job, or your employer could freeze its pension plan and stop the accrual of new benefits. "We don't use the projected benefit; that's a wishing well out there," Fraasa says. "We focus on the part you do own."
•Protect yourself. Even if you're in line to get a huge pension, it also helps to save as much as possible in accounts you control. Invest the maximum in your 401k, especially if you have an employer match, and in your Roth or traditional IRA (on both, the limit is $4,000 in 2005; $4,500 if you're 50 or older). If you can afford to save even more, open a small-business retirement plan if you have any self-employed income, or invest in a taxable account you plan to hold on to long-term.
