3. Helping the significantly underfunded US pension funds, who are unlikely to close their asset and liability gap, may require wrenching political reform.  Liability matching is a forefront concern for both the $12 trillion defined benefit (DB) pension system and the US government.  The IMF has warned that the drastic underfunding of US pension funds poses systemic risk to the global economy. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the emergence of defined contribution (DC) plans have shifted the market risk from the corporation to the individual, and simultaneously led to some uncomfortable questions to be asked about the quality of investment options available in corporate 401k plans, for example. An emerging pain point is balancing the needs of employees in one firm benefiting from a DB plan vs. those on a DC plan, without making either side feel disadvantaged.