Are pensions worth it to employers anymore?

At lunch today, I saw some people who work at Marshall University. I told them I gotta get me a government job so I can have a pension.

Having a pension in the private sector isn't that rosy, not that I would know anymore. Take this article from the New York Times today:

Stung by outsize investment losses, some of the nation’s biggest companies are pushing Congress to roll back rules requiring them to put more money into their pension funds, just two years after President Bush signed a law meant to strengthen the pension system.

The total value of company pension funds is thought to have fallen by more than $250 billion since last winter. With cash now in short supply for companies, they are asking Congress to excuse them from having to replenish the required amounts.

That sounds like the same idea that got West Virginia's largest municipalities in trouble.

Planning for the future is just about impossible right now for people in their late 40s and older. In my lifetime, I expect the only pensions around will be those for government employees.

To answer the question posted in the title of this entry, probably not. I would not be surprised to see some major changes in government pensions, too, in the next few years. All it will take is one state to make the first move. Then the rest will follow. Not likely, but if it does happen, I won't be surprised.