Cynthia Ramnarace

That is the tricky choice thousands of former General Motors Co. employees must make by July 20. It is also a decision that many more workers will make as other companies move expensive pension plans off their balance sheets. Rival Ford Motor Co., for example, will begin offering pension buyouts this summer to 98,000 white-collar retirees and former employees who are vested in its pension, potentially cutting roughly one-third of Ford’s U.S. pension liability.