Excerpt: 'The major factor affecting pension underfunding in 2005 will be interest rates, and we expect them to increase, but not sufficiently enough to alleviate the funding shortage,' according to Standard & Poor's. Defined-benefit pension plans sponsored by Standard & Poor's 500 companies were, on average, no better or worse off at the end of 2004 than they were a year earlier, according to a new study by S&P.  MORE >>