I have (or more correctly had) two pensions. One from Knoll International and the other from Westinghouse (now CBS) for the period when Knoll was a division of Westinghouse.

Both pensions were set up to pay the full amount to my wife if I die first. I have been receiving those checks for ten years.

A few months ago I received a letter from the Knoll pension plan offering an option of a one time buyout which, if elected, would end any further payments.

I was very much surprised by the amount of the offer and after discussing it with my financial advisor filed to take the offer---which is now complete. My financial advisor did tell me that this is not an isolated case. Companies do not like pension liabilities on their balance sheet since they are "indeterminate".

I'm curious if anyone else had had such an offer.

I also believe, that the now almost unheard of policy of company provided pensions plans, is not a good thing for anyone (other than the companies). I know far too many people who are unable, ill-equipped, or unwilling to take responsible actions to guarantee their own financial solvency. Company based pension plans were (to the best of my knowledge) raid proof.

I'm not downing anyone, I do know people, that through no fault of their own, depleted their 401k accounts to meet unexpected financial demands. They end up trying to survive on SS alone---and that isn't reality for most of us.

I'm not sure there is a universal solution to the entire issue of pensions---but I'm reasonably certain we haven't found one as yet.

But--back to the original issue--has anyone else seen such a buyout?