US pension insurer ran record $62B deficit in 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal agency that insures pensions for about 41 million Americans saw its deficit nearly double in the latest fiscal year.

The agency said the worsening finances of some multiemployer pension plans mainly caused the increased deficit.

At about $62 billion for the budget year ending Sept. 30, it was the widest deficit in the 40-year history of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which reported the data today. That compares with a $36 billion shortfall the previous year.

Multiemployer plans are pension agreements between labor unions and a group of companies, usually in the same industry. The agency said the deficit in its multiemployer insurance program jumped to $42.4 billion from $8.3 billion in 2013.

By contrast, the deficit in the single-employer program shrank to $19.3 billion from $27.4 billion as the economy strengthened, the PBGC said.

The agency didn't name the multiemployer plans that it expects to run out of money within the next 10 years or how many are involved. It said they represent a minority of the total 1,400 or so multiemployer pension plans covering about 10 million workers.