SCHAUMBURG, Ill. -- Members of Motorola Employees Credit Unionare probably not too surprised to hear that Motorola Inc. has madethe decision to permanently freeze its U.S. defined benefit pensionplans.

John Fiore, president/CEO of the $650 million CU, said there isa general understanding that economic conditions have affected themobile technology giant's bottom line. So far, members have notexpressed any concerns.

Motorola recently announced that as part of an overall costreduction program, effective March 9, it will permanently freezeits U.S. pension plans, preserving vested benefits accrued byemployees and retirees but eliminating future benefit accruals. Thecompany said it still intends to continue providing funding to meetits pension obligations to present and future retirees.

"Most companies do not even have a defined benefits plan," Fioresaid. "Motorola is probably one of the last to truly have [one] andthey kept it going for as long as they possibly could. But it's apretty expensive endeavor."

In a move to further cut costs, Motorola said as of Jan. 1, itwill also temporarily suspend all company matching contributions toits 401(k) plans. Fiore said he is optimistic that Motorola willreturn to matching when the company is in a better financialposition.

Of the CU's 40,000 members, half are active Motorola employees,Fiore said, adding the other half is retirees, people who have leftthe company or were laid off.