MarketWatch, August 4, 2009 — Why is it bad to not have a traditional pension? Well, the poverty rate among older households lacking pension income is about six times greater than those with such income, according to The Pension Factor.

“Pensions reduce — and in some cases eliminate — the greater risk of poverty and public-assistance dependence that women and minority populations otherwise would face,” according to the report released last week by the University of Massachusetts-Boston and the National Institute on Retirement Security.

Read the full story here.