The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said Friday that its deficit had almost doubled to $22 billion in fiscal 2009 and that its exposure to future losses from weak companies had more than tripled

"We could face much higher deficits in the future," PBGC acting director Vincent Snowbarger said in a statement. "We won't fail to meet our obligations to retirees, but ultimately we will need a long-term solution."

The PBGC's finances this year have been battered by the weak economy, which put it on the hook for 144 new pension plans that failed during the year ended Sept. 30. That compares with 67 in the previous year.

Delphi Corp., the auto-parts maker, and Nortel Networks Corp.'s U.S. subsidiary are among the companies whose pensions the PBGC took over this year.

The agency's investment return rate was 13.2%.