The health of the nation's collectively bargained multiemployer pension plans is a tale of two viewpoints.

Under one narrative, about 10 percent of the roughly 10.5 million workers and retirees counting on pension promises are in plans classified with a "critical and declining" status, meaning the plans will be insolvent within the next two decades or before.

But another narrative shows that most multiemployer pension plans are classified as "green zone" plans under the benchmark Congress established in the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Green Zone plans have a funded status of at least 80 percent.

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Nick Thornton

Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.