So using pension gains to burnish earnings is not as effective as it was during the late 1990's.

S.&P.'s accountants, using the new system, pore over a company's reports, calculate options costs and pension gains, and deduct them from corporate earnings.

But a measure of how fleeting these pension gains can be is seen in the company's annual filing.

The big hypothetical pension gains, and other smoothed pension numbers, made United look profitable that year.

The new contract averted a national strike and included pension gains, job security language and significant wage increases.

Of the six board members, Mr. Saathoff achieved the largest monthly pension gain, $2,530, to $9,704, according to the district attorney.

General Electric, for example, had total pension gains last year of $1.38 billion, up almost 40 percent from 1998.

Year-earlier quarter included $13 million in pension gains.

Year-ago 9-month results were decreased by $80 million in net charges relating to the company's manpower reduction program and associated pension gains.

Because these gains are typically buried in financial statements, shareholders may not understand how a company's earnings are augmented by pension gains.