Private pensions are in pretty good shape with the exception of labor-dominated multi-employer plans.
Government entities have willfully created their pension problems by underfunding year after year. Eventually it becomes a big number and the top officials scream "How did this happen?" It wouldn't have happened if they funded properly every year.
The US had a higher debt to GDP ratio after WW2 that steadily dwindled to about 35% in the latesting 70s. It has been rising since the to about 110% in 2017. We may have exceeded the WW2 level since then. The point is there was about 30 years of declining national debt. It is at least possible, although not terribly likely. There was a budget surplus at the the end of the Clinton administration. That's not to far in the rear view.
Slowing and eliminating are two very different things. It wouldn't have really even been an issue if this virus didn't happen, but it did and it's going to rack up trillions in debt for countries all around the world or at least the western style ones that won't just let their people go broke and starve to death. There's no choice but to spend huge to keep the world going and until we get through this there's no way you can even begin to talk about slowing down the increase 100 percent false
You’ll find that veteran employees at large companies have them. But new hires at those same companies, in many cases, are excluded from the plans.
They close the plans to new participants. Worse, those in them for 15-20 years get "cashed out" and switched to cash-balance plans and lose the rapidly rising benefits that accrue once you there 20 or 25 years or longer.
I have two pensions, but I don't know if they are what you would call private. One is from the county and the other one from the state. And they're both lifetime. Or at least until the funds get cut or run out.
You guys can talk to the Plan Administrator and ask for the latest Form 5500, which gives the funding level. You want to check out the funding level percentage and also the ABO (Accumulated Benefit Obligation) vs. plan assets.
We have never been through a situation where economies around the world have been shut down due to a virus.