Lynn Carpenter says pension fund deficits could be a major threat to dividend payments. Legislation forces companies to keep private pension plans well funded, meaning some will have to raise large sums of cash at short notice. Lynn picks 9 firms that could soon be forced into making big dividend cuts.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. will diversify its portfolio. Investment in equities would jump to 45% and 10% of its portfolio would be set aside for alternative investments which would be split equally between real estate and private equity. Diversifying its mix of investments would significantly increase chances of erasing the $14 billion deficit within the next decade.