By Elizabeth Bauer, includes “Time for some good news, for a change, or, rather, a bit of a case study … The plan in question is the Chicago Laborers’ Pension Plan, which provides retirement benefits for workers in the building and construction trades in the greater Chicago area … the funded status charts above clearly illustrate the impact of a tighter discount rate regulation - the funded status drops from 75% to 40%, and contribution requirements would escalate sharply. …”