"The unforeseen and nearly unprecedented decline in the market has affected almost all plans. This decline is exacerbated by Treasury's interpretation of the Pension Protection Act as effectively requiring plan assets to be marked to market for funding purposes. Thus, in general, every dollar of asset loss must be immediately taken into account. This dire situation could have devastating effects on jobs and the economic recovery. This document provides [1] aggregate funding data, [2] examples of shocking increases in funding obligations, [3] the effects of this situation on jobs and retirement security, [4] a solution, and [5] an explanation of why our solution needs to be enacted now."  MORE >>