A report from the Conference Board of Canada and Watson Wyatt Worldwide finds that corporate executives see a persistent, ongoing pension crisis.

The firms’ third annual survey on pension risk is designed to capture views on the extent of the pension crisis and the actions being taken to address this issue.

It found that 80% of chief financial officer respondents believe there is a widespread pension crisis, up from 59% two years earlier. They also expect it to last a long time, with 61% of CFOs saying that the crisis will last for the next few years, up from 43% in 2005, and just 20% in 2004. Also, 60% of vice-presidents of human resources believe that the pension crisis is widespread and will be long-lasting.

The top concerns of survey respondents are managing cost volatility and solvency funding, it reported.

Additionally, they said that the greatest threats to the sustainability of private sector defined benefit pension plans are the volatility of funding and expenses, and the asymmetry between risks and rewards.

To deal with these issues, executives are taking a variety of measures, including: reducing the normal retirement benefit accrual rate (26%), reduce early retirement benefits (27%), reduce other ancillary benefits (39%), increase required employee contributions (50%). It notes that benefit cuts are widespread across all sectors, but contribution increases are focused in the public sector.

Human resources vice presidents worry that the DB pension crisis could affect the attraction and retention of top talent, especially in the long term.