Now, apparently, it's okay if a company reneges on a pension commitment.

Some have suggested that American must duck its pension commitments and kill its pension plans in order to survive.

Disclose any pension commitments at the year end.

Unlike other contracts, which might be renegotiated as business conditions change, pension commitments are forever.

In Greece, high public sector wage and pension commitments were connected to the debt increase.

Stocks, they say, can be expected to yield higher returns over the long term, which is why they believe they make sense given the nature of pension commitments far into the future.

The amount may have been modest but the entitlement spanned three centuries, illustrating just how long pension commitments can last.

This money has to be re-earned each year and so allows the Government to reward staff for their achievements without creating future pay or pension commitments.

Eastern and Pan American have died, leaving unfunded pension commitments that the taxpayer probably will be forced to pick up.

These days, the opinion is peddled that pension commitments are a burden on society whereby the elderly exploit the younger generations.