Much has been written recently about the challenge of meeting pension obligations, particularly since 2000-2002 left pensions in tatters. The challenge is interesting and multifaceted—embracing issues of, to name a few, demographics, reasonable expectations, business ethics, stakeholder interests, the social compact, and intergenerational equity. A number of writers have addressed ways to gauge the scale of the problem, align the interests of the stakeholders, leave less wiggle room for ethical shenanigans in setting return expectations, and make sure that our generation doesn't hand our kids an unfunded obligation that they might justly choose not to honor. This last point, suggesting that perhaps our children shouldn't feel obligated to honor pledges we've made to ourselves, is a provocative one, to which I'll return.
展开▼
