Hershey announced today it will close its defined benefit pension plan to new employees and begin to offer a higher match on their 401k plan in order to cut costs.  The nations largest candy maker joins a growing list of companies who have eliminated pension plans.  The Houston Chronicle provides details.

Currently, companies sponsor about 28,000 pension plans, down from a peak of 115,000 in the mid-1980s, according to the American Benefits Council. Changes in pension law, cheap overseas competition and the collapse of the stock market has convinced many companies that a traditional pension plan is too risky to continue funding, experts say.