U.S. Pension Insurer Ran Record $62B Deficit in 2013

The federal agency that insures pensions for about 41 million Americans saw its deficit nearly double last year. The agency said the worsening finances of some multi-employer pension plans mainly caused the increased deficit.

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

Multi-employer plans are pension agreements between labor unions and a group of companies, usually in the same industry. The agency said the deficit in its multi-employer 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.