Generations Will Feel Pension Act Differently

· Will also be helped by efforts to shore up traditional pensions, in which they are more likely than younger workers to be enrolled.

· Will find it easier to save for college, as several expiring laws that promoted savings were made permanent. The contributions to retirement accounts will be permitted to rise with inflation.

Near-Retirement Workers (60-plus)

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· Will benefit more than any other group from the provisions on traditional pensions, according to the AARP.

· Should receive more information from companies about the health of their pension plans.

· Should see companies put more money into underfunded pensions.

· Should have new protections against employers that would promise increased benefits even though a plan is funded.

Unresolved Issues:

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· The law falls short in several areas, according to retirement groups, by not requiring companies, when employees retire, to automatically invest their 401(k) money in annuities, financial plans that promise to pay a set amount each month for as long as an employee lives. The National Center for Policy Analysis says such programs are vital to prevent retirees from exhausting savings too soon and then having to live only on Social Security.

· Another concern for some consumer groups is that the bill makes it easier for hedge funds, which are largely unregulated investment funds, to manage larger portions of pension funds without triggering regulatory scrutiny.