Put Your Retirement Worries to Rest. No, Wait....

Were your 401k retirement savings decimated by the recent tumble in the stock market? Not to worry. You always have your old company pension plan to fall back on, right? Errrr...

It turns out that the federal agency that backstops private pension plans also was hammered by the market meltdown. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller said today that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. lost "at least $3 billion" in stock investments in its trust fund in the 11 months ended Aug. 31.

Miller, a Democrat from California, add that the P.B.G.C. had also invested a "significant portion" of its funds in mortgage-backed securities.

Fortunately, the agency had a gain of $579 million through its fixed-income investments.

P.B.G.C. director Charles Millard will address the fund's investing strategy when he testifies before the committee on Friday.

"At a time when Americans' anxiety about their economic future is escalating, Millard's testimony is vital to better understand the financial situation of the nation's pension guarantor," Miller said in a statement.

The testimony invitation comes after Mr. Millard "rebuffed a committee subpoena in July," Miller said. At the time, the committee was investigating a report of "mismanagement and lax governance practices" at the agency.

P.B.G.C. officials did not respond to requests for comment.

by Mark Stein

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