This is a particularly strong argument in Germany as the country starts to phase in partial pension funding.

ECONOMIST: Springing the pay-as-you-go trap

The proposed rules say the partial pension arrangement can't begin until an employee reaches 59.5 years old--an age based on current penalties for early distributions from retirement plans.

FORBES: Work (Part Time) Until You Drop

For example, an employer must track exactly what percentage of full time a worker (even a salaried, professional one) puts in each year, and then retroactively adjust his partial pension accordingly.

FORBES: Work (Part Time) Until You Drop

The government has made inroads into some of Poland's worst problems, notably with a tough, if partial, pension reform.

ECONOMIST: Poland's strong economy

So, too, have workers at United Airlines: a bankruptcy judge recently ruled that the firm could hand its pension plan over to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a government-linked pension insurer that pays only partial benefits to high-earners.

ECONOMIST: Getting greyer—and poorer too? | The

The EU leaders are at loggerheads over the issue: should Greece be allowed to do a soft, controlled, partial default on its debts which forces banks and pension funds to lose some of the money they lent to Greece?

BBC: Ten points on the Euro crisis