Twinkies Defense Is Private Equity's Pension Offense: Street Whispers

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The liquidation filing of Hostess Brands -- the maker of consumer fattening favorites such as Ho Hos and Twinkies - also means that Americans may soon gorge themselves on the company's massive pension liabilities.

Hostess' liquidation -- just like the recent bankruptcies of well known companies like Friendly Ice Cream and Eddie Bauer -- raises the prospect that sophisticated private equity and distressed debt hedge fund investors are using courts to cast off unwanted pension obligations on U.S. taxpayers and put a losing investment back on the track.

Consider that also on Friday, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation disclosed that its U.S. pension plan insurance deficit grew to a record $34 billion this year, the biggest shortfall in the federal agency's history. PBGC guarantees employee pension plans after a company goes belly up, securing the retirement of roughly 43 million U.S. workers.

While PBGC doesn't take government money directly - it's funded by way of insurance premiums and portfolio returns - the agency's head said on Friday that a growing deficit raises the prospect of taxpayer support.

In a statement released with the agency's bleak outlook, PBGC Director Joshua Gotbaum attributed the plan's shortfall on an inability to set premiums for member companies and noted that the agency's deficit may put taxpayers at risk for the first time in its 38-year history.

"PBGC may face for the first time the need for taxpayer funds," Gotbaum said on Friday.

So what is the tie-in between Hostess Brands liquidation and PBGC's dire financial outlook?

Were a bankruptcy judge to approve Hostess's plans, it's likely that most of the near 18,500 Hostess workers will lose their job and pensions with the company.