It's very complicated. It's really difficult to come up with a broad-stroke decision. The EEOC investigated 26,350 such complaints last year, down from 32,000 in 1992. About half of the complaints blame age for a dismissal, and most of the rest allege unfair treatment or failure to be hired because of age. David Certner, who coordinates economic issues for the AARP, says pension issues may be emerging as the next battleground in the age-discrimination war.
Companies can do things that soften or eliminate the impact on older workers.
Eastman Kodak Co. will give all its U.S. workers a choice of remaining in the old pension plan or joining the new one. They have until the end of November to decide. One of several bills in Congress addressing cash-balance issues deals with the wearaway problem, and several others require employers to make clearer to workers how a pension conversion would affect them. IBM Pension Switch At IBM, rumors began to circulate about a switch to cash balance late in 1998. On May 3, IBM announced its plan to convert.