Whither the Pension Plan? Accounting Rules Mask Increasing Debt

Reading the fine print - in this case, the notes to financial statements - is absolutely necessary. The problem is, we're talking about debt that's not on the balance sheet. The balance sheets don't show it but the pension plans of many companies in Canada and the United States are under-funded, a situation that could only worsen in the short term. Worse still, finding out just how cash poor the plans are requires wading through the small print of the notes to the financial statements.