Everyone knows that pension plans, both public and private, are in trouble. But on closer examination, this isn’t the apocalypse many people think it is. Most pensions will pay most beneficiaries most of what they are owed, and government pension-protection agencies have various techniques for keeping pensions as healthy as possible.

Still, there is plenty of reason to be concerned about retirees’ futures.

To shed light on the situation, Wharton’s Pension Research Council recently asked two top pension-protection officials to discuss conditions in the United States and the United Kingdom. The forum, “Saving Pensions: What Can the U.S. and UK Learn from Each Other?” was moderated by council executive director Olivia S. Mitchell, a professor of insurance and risk management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Participating were Lady Barbara Judge, chairman of the UK Pension Protection Fund (PPF), and Joshua Gotbaum, director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), a U.S. government agency.

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