A friend told me the value of his 401(k) plan account dropped because of the stock market. Could this happen to my Pension Plan benefit?

January 9, 2014

No. A 401(k) plan is a “defined contribution” individual account plan under which your benefit at retirement depends on the value of assets in your account when you collect your benefit. Our Plan is a “defined benefit” pension plan under which the benefit is calculated under a stated formula. The benefit calculated under this formula is not directly affected if Plan investments decline in value.