Bush offers unlikely fix for imperiled private pensions

President Bush's proposed budget would inject more than $16 billion into the federal fund that backstops troubled private pension plans. But, some experts say Bush's proposal amounts to little more than window dressing.

Of the $65 billion in savings from entitlement programs that President Bush has proposed, one-fourth would come from steps to restore solvency to the federal agency that insures employer-based pension plans.

But experts say the estimates of $16.7 billion in savings over the next five years from reforms to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. may be overly optimistic. They say companies can't realistically be expected to fork over enough in increased payments to reach that goal.

The proposal, part of Bush's budget plan for 2007, assumes larger PBGC premiums ``than are likely to be practically or politically feasible,'' said Douglas J. Elliott of the Center on Federal Financial Institutions.