The federal insurer behind 31,000 US pension plans has warned of “multi-faceted and profound challenges”, amid clear signs that concern about retirement costs is moving rapidly up the agenda in Washington.

With the threat of bankruptcies looming in the airline industry, senior White House officials are keeping a close eye on developments. The National Economic Council, headed by Stephen Friedman, is working with the Treasury, where a pensions taskforce is said to have been created. President George W. Bush is also understood to have raised the issue with Andrew Card, his chief of staff.