William C. Greenough; Former Head of Major Pension Fund

William C. Greenough, 75, developer of the variable-annuity pension and one-time head of the biggest pension fund in the United States. The economist born and educated in Indiana was president and then chairman of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Assn.-College Retirement Equities Fund from 1957 until his retirement in 1979. The $82-billion fund covers more than a million educators and administrators in 4,300 institutions. Greenough put forward the idea of a variable-annuity stock fund in the early 1950s when he was vice president of the fund. The approach was based on his perception that over the long run a diverse portfolio of common stocks would outperform traditional fixed-dollar pensions. Greenough was a director of the New York Stock Exchange for 10 years beginning in 1972 and in 1979 served on President Jimmy Carter’s Commission on Pension Policy. In New York City on Wednesday after a heart attack.