The US Nationalization of Pension Funds the $23 trillion dollar solution.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), provides for underfunded pensions assets to be seized and the standards include Healthcare.   So the modeling along with the legal structure permit seizure.  The modeling is not disclosed and its assumptions can and will be used to seize assets to fill gapping holes across the world.http://www.gao.gov/htext/d05360t.html

The World will be bailed out via the wholesale Nationalization of US Pension Funds. The Nationalization of Pension Funds and why it will happen. "Welcome to the Gulag comrade". The best way of investing is find out what Barney Frank and his friends are doing with their money; everything else is a distant second. The Global size of Pensions was estimated in 2009 at 22 Trillion Euro of which the US had 50.5% that is roughly 11 Trillion Euro in assets solely under Federal Jurisdiction and subject to mere definitions rather than actual legislation i.e. no Congressional review is required to effectively nationalize all or a percentage of $8.69 Trillion USD. The shortfalls and expected collapses of various pension funds falls squarely on the back of the Pension Board Guarantee Corp another GSE that manages some bankrupt entities pensions. The important feature is the unbridled access the Federal Government has to direct and control these funds. Peter Fink of Blackrock which manages $3 Trillion is Pension assets is concerned about the shortfall so the cause to Nationalize via direct or influence indirectly has already been established as a major concern, whereby regardless of the deposit liabilities assumed by the Federal Government via the FDIC and Congressional Debt Limits the access to vast pools of capital are immediately available. This could include the ceasing of particular assets like gold. So imagine if you will a European Banking system that requires a bailout and a resistant US Congress that will not allow for funds to be directed for that purpose. The reality of the situation is the Federal Government outside of Congressional Oversight can cause certain assets to be liquidated or require others to be held for compliance reasons which are achieved by definition from the Department of Labour. There are very few moving parts in US legislation governing pension activities. The insidious plan is something that has crept under the door so the speak since Pension and Health care benefits arose out of a Federal freeze implemented on salaries and prices way back in 1971 by President Nixon so the history of Federal intrusion on private commerce created this tempest. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/04/us-pension-gap-idUSTRE7934XN20111004Reuters) - September was another cruel month for large U.S. pension plans, as stock losses and lower interest rates caused the shortfall between their assets and liabilities to balloon to the largest gap since the end of World War II.Pension consulting firm Mercer calculated that pension plans of companies in the Standard & Poor's 1500 Index had a $512 billion shortfall at the end of September, a whopping $134 billion increase during the month.http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2011/09/19/feds-to-rewrite-erisa-fiduciary-definition-revisioWASHINGTON BUREAU -- The U.S. Department of Labor says it will re-do efforts to update the definition of fiduciary it uses in dealings with retirement plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).The department says it expects to re-issue the proposed rule in early 2012.Phyllis Borzi, director of the Employment Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), an arm of the U.S. Labor Department, says EBSA expects to make it clear in the revised update proposal that "fiduciary advice is limited to individualized advice directed to specific parties." http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/aboutebsa/history.htmlHistory Of EBSA And ERISAPrinter Friendly VersionThe Employee Benefits Security Administration is responsible for administering and enforcing the fiduciary, reporting and disclosure provisions of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). At the time of its name change in February 2003, EBSA was known as the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA). Prior to January 1986, PWBA was known as the Pension and Welfare Benefits Program. At the time of this name change, the Agency was upgraded to a sub-cabinet position with the establishment of Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary positions.The provisions of Title I of ERISA, which are administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, were enacted to address public concern that funds of private pension plans were being mismanaged and abused. ERISA was the culmination of a long line of legislation concerned with the labor and tax aspects of employee benefit plans. Since its enactment in 1974, ERISA has been amended to meet the changing retirement and health care needs of employees and their families. The role of EBSA has also evolved to meet these challenges.The administration of ERISA is divided among the U.S. Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of the Treasury (IRS), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Title I, which contains rules for reporting and disclosure, vesting, participation, funding, fiduciary conduct, and civil enforcement, is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor. Title II of ERISA, which amended the Internal Revenue Code to parallel many of the Title I rules, is administered by the IRS. Title III is concerned with jurisdictional matters and with coordination of enforcement and regulatory activities by the U.S. Department of Labor and the IRS. Title IV covers the insurance of defined benefit pension plans and is administered by the PBGC.Prior to a 1978 reorganization, there was overlapping responsibility for administration of the parallel provisions of Title I of ERISA and the tax code by the U.S. Department of Labor and the IRS, respectively. As a result of this reorganization, the U.S. Department of Labor has primary responsibility for reporting, disclosure and fiduciary requirements; and the IRS has primary responsibility for participation, vesting and funding issues. However, the U.S. Department of Labor may intervene in any matters that materially affect the rights of participants, regardless of primary responsibility.As a result of the enactment of the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 (FERSA), EBSA has fiduciary and auditing oversight of the Thrift Savings Plan that was established by this Act.Pre-ERISA Legislation Initially, the IRS was the primary regulator of private pension plans. The Revenue Acts of 1921 and 1926 allowed employers to deduct pension contributions from corporate income, and allowed for the income of the pension fund's portfolio to accumulate tax free. The participant in the plan realized no income until monies were distributed to the participant, provided the plan was tax qualified. To qualify for such favorable tax treatment, the plans had to meet certain minimum employee coverage and employer contribution requirements. The Revenue Act of 1942 provided stricter participation requirements and, for the first time, disclosure requirements.The U.S. Department of Labor became involved in the regulation of employee benefits plans upon passage of the Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act in 1959 (WPPDA). Plan sponsors (e.g., employers and labor unions) were required to file plan descriptions and annual financial reports with the government; these materials were also available to plan participants and beneficiaries. This legislation was intended to provide employees with enough information regarding plans so that they could monitor their plans to prevent mismanagement and abuse of plan funds. The WPPDA was amended in 1962, at which time the Secretary of Labor was given enforcement, interpretative, and investigatory powers over employee benefit plans to prevent mismanagement and abuse of plan funds. Compared to ERISA, the WPPDA had a very limited scope.ERISA The goal of Title I of ERISA is to protect the interests of participants and their beneficiaries in employee benefit plans. Among other things, ERISA requires that sponsors of private employee benefit plans provide participants and beneficiaries with adequate information regarding their plans. Also, those individuals who manage plans (and other fiduciaries) must meet certain standards of conduct, derived from the common law of trusts and made applicable (with certain modifications) to all fiduciaries. The law also contains detailed provisions for reporting to the government and disclosure to participants. Furthermore, there are civil enforcement provisions aimed at assuring that plan funds are protected and that participants who qualify receive their benefits.ERISA covers pension plans and welfare benefit plans (e.g., employment based medical and hospitalization benefits, apprenticeship plans, and other plans described in section 3(1) of Title I). Plan sponsors must design and administer their plans in accordance with ERISA. Title II of ERISA contains standards that must be met by employee pension benefit plans in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment. Noncompliance with these tax qualification requirements of ERISA may result in disqualification of a plan and/or other penalties.Important legislation has amended ERISA and increased the responsibilities of EBSA. For example, the Retirement Equity Act of 1984 reduced the maximum age that an employer may require for participation in a pension plan; lengthened the period of time a participant could be absent from work without losing pension credits; and created spousal rights to pension benefits through qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs) in the event of divorce, and through pre-retirement survivor annuities. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 eliminated the ability of employers to limit participation in their retirement plans for new employees who are close to retirement and the ability to freeze benefits for participants over age 65. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 requires the Secretary of Labor to assess a civil penalty equal to 20% of any amount recovered for violations of fiduciary responsibility.The department's responsibilities under ERISA have also been expanded by health care reform. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) added a new part 6 to Title I of ERISA which provides for the continuation of health care coverage for employees and their beneficiaries (for a limited period of time) if certain events would otherwise result in a reduction in benefits. More recently, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) added a new Part 7 to Title I of ERISA aimed at making health care coverage more portable and secure for employees, and gave the department broad additional responsibilities with respect to private health plans.

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