By John Wasik; Forbes ~ Oct 01, 2014

What you don’t know about your defined-benefit pension plan can come back to sting you.

Unlike 401(k)-type “defined contribution” plans, old-style defined-benefit plans are insured by a quasi-governmental agency called the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), which acts like the FDIC in covering benefits from failed or terminated pension plans.

But “insurance” is a relative term when it comes to covering pension plans. The PBGC may not fully cover the benefit due and it may run out of money in the future to cover all of the plans under their supervision.