I've been talking a lot about the looming pension crisis…

My short thesis is, if you're depending on a pension for your retirement, it's time to start looking elsewhere.

Pensions are simply giant funds responsible for paying out retirement benefits to workers.

And today, the nation's 1,400 corporate pension plans are facing a $553 billion shortfall. And, according to Boston College, about 25% will likely go broke in the next decade.

Think about that… A full one-quarter of US, non-government employees expecting a pension to fund their retirement will likely get zilch.

And it's even worse for the government…

According to credit-rating agency Moody's, state, federal and local government pension plans are $7 trillion short in funding.

The reason for this crisis is simple – investment returns are too low.

Pension funds invest in stocks, bonds, real estate, private equity and a host of other assets, hoping to generate a safe return.

But with interest rates near their lowest levels in human history, it's been difficult for these pensions to generate a suitable return without taking on more and more risk.

And that's another big problem with pensions – their investment returns are totally unrealistic.

Most pension funds require a minimum annual return of about 8% a year to cover their future liabilities.