This document has two parts. The first part presents background information on trends in pensions drawn from our forthcoming book, Pensions in the Health and Retirement Study. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), trends in pensions are described among three cohorts: those aged 51 to 56 in 1992, called the HRS cohort; those 51 to 56 in 1998, called the war baby cohort; and those 51 to 56 in 2004, called the early boomer cohort. The second part is a paper which deals with the likely effects of the stock market decline on those approaching retirement age.