Excerpt: Today's low long-term interest rates, combined with a stock market that's no higher than it was six years ago, have made traditional defined-benefit plans a crushing financial burden to many firms-- just as they're feeling the heat from foreign businesses that don't have plans. In addition, research shows that young employees increasingly don't care about traditional pensions ... And a raft of coming regulatory changes will make those plans even more burdensome to employers.

MORE >>