Many American workers are relying on pensions promised them by their employers. But pensions aren't risk-free. Consider companies such as US Airways (OTCBB: USALA), which end up in bankruptcy court and find themselves unable to fulfill some or all of their pension obligations. Yikes. Other firms, such as General Motors (NYSE:GM), Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPQ) and Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) have also reported pension difficulties.

If you think you're safe, think again. It's estimated that nearly 80% of the 30,000-plus pension plans offered by single private employers are underfunded, with these obligations totaling some $400 billion or more.

Fortunately for many workers, an agency called the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. is in the business of insuring pensions. (Hooray!) All isn't rosy at the PBGC, though. The agency covers the pensions of some 44 million employees and retirees, and in the wake of many business failures and fumbles, it's feeling the pinch.

Reportedly, the volume of underfunded pensions at companies currently in distress doubled over the past year, and could total more than $80 billion. (Blame our friends the airlines for roughly a third of this mess, and the steel and manufacturing industries are also major factors.) According to PBGC director Steve Kandarian, the pension claims the agency faced in 2002 were greater than the total claims for all previous years combined.

This has all led to a shortfall at the PBGC itself -- which has no corresponding insurance agency ready to bail it out. The PBGC's deficit is nearly $6 billion, having grown a whopping $2 billion over the past year alone.

What can be done? Well, investigations and discussions are underway at various government offices and in Congress. Learn more about the problem and some suggested solutions in this article.

And if this is making you think you'd better tend your own garden of retirement funds, learn how to save effectively for the short term and then consider getting some professional advice from an independent financial advisor on how to sock moolah away for the long term.

One good source of independent, personalized advice is our TMF Money Advisor service. It's inexpensive and easy to use -- see if it makes sense for you. (We're offering a free trial period right now.)