The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, a government-sponsored safety net, will require a $78bn cash injection next year unless Congress changes the way companies run their pension schemes, according to a new analysis.

The Center on Federal Financial Institutions, a Washington think-tank which studies US government guarantee programmes, has concluded that the hole could be as big as $100bn, if all “legacy” airlines become insolvent and collapse their pension liabilities into the PBGC.