Unions, fearing that some companies might otherwise terminate or default on pension plans, supported the bill.
The agency responds that it does not keep the money from companies that default on pension plans; most is used to increase payments to retirees.
Varoufakis' comments made clear that, given the choice between defaulting on the debt and defaulting on pension payments, the pensioners would be taken care of.
The pension scheme would then be transferred to the Pension Protection Fund, which acts as a "lifeboat" to prevent employers defaulting on pension obligations.
Without its own funding lifelines, the Greek government could also run out of money and default on paying pensions, salaries and other debt obligations within a couple of weeks.
Enforce the funding rules too rigorously, he said, and the country will end up with weak companies that default on their pension promises and stronger companies that refuse to offer pensions.
If precedent is set there for one of America's (formerly) largest cities to default on its pension promises, then it will likely drive other cities and states into more serious negotiation about both funding and re-adjusting their pension plans.
For United, the world's second-largest commercial airline, to default on its pension funds would be a historic blow to the labor movement, said David Gregory, a labor law professor at St . Johns University in Queens.
In fact, Greece could make its debt payments even without new injections of capital, but that would require the government to default on its pension or wage obligations.
The column generated a spate of emails telling me that a city "couldn't" default on its pension promises, that they were "guaranteed".
