September 25, 1983

The corporate practice of siphoning money from employee pension plans to finance acquisitions, fight takeovers, retire debt or dress up financial statements has caught the eye of Congress. Hearings open Wednesday before the House Select Committee on Aging. ''Millions of American workers are faced with a jeopardy to their financial security in old age,'' said Representative Edward R. Roybal, Democrat of California and chairman of the House panel. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which sets the rules, did not envisage a situation in which cash-hungry company managers would terminate pension plans that have generated surplus funds, set up new plans with only the funds needed to cover their employees and use the excess funds for general corporate purposes. ''Even if some form of defined contribution plan replaces the terminated plan,'' Mr. Roybal said, ''it is unlikely that the worker will be able to achieve the level and security of benefits previously offered under the terminated plan.''

The seventh and decisive race in the 25th America's Cup series between Australia II, the challenger, and Liberty, the defender, was postponed today because of insufficient wind. The winds of controversy, though, blew strongly after the race was postponed. Dennis Conner, Liberty's skipper, called for a lay day, or day off, for Sunday, and the final race in this series was rescheduled for Monday. But what really stirred the Australians was the plan to have Liberty taken to Cove Haven Marina in Barrington, R.I., tonight to have its ballast readjusted again.

The lid blew off Manila last week with four consecutive days of violent street demonstrations, raising questions in Washington about whether it was a physically or politically safe place for President Reagan's scheduled visit early in November. President Ferdinand E. Marcos ordered a strict security force crackdown after 11 people were killed in anti-Government protests. By week's end, White House officials who had earlier said Mr. Reagan had no plans to cancel the Philippine portion of his Asian tour were saying it might be ''very difficult'' for him to go ahead with it. Mrs. Reagan was said to be ''very concerned'' that the President ''might be in danger,'' especially in light of unanswered questions about the bizarre assassination of the Philippine President's chief political rival, former Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr., who was killed last month while under the Government's protection.

FOR the past eight years, State Senator Thom Serrani, a Democrat, and State Representative Christopher Shays, a Republican, have represented Stamford in the General Assembly. They worked on legislation together, commuted to the State Capitol together, socialized together and became what they each describe as ''great friends.'' Now they are running against each other in the Mayor's race in Stamford. They insist that their new status as opponents will not hurt their friendship. In fact, they are planning a joint barbecue and softball game for their campaign workers.

The ads call it ''The Best Musical Ever,'' a judgment that is at least debatable. But as of Thursday, no one can dispute that ''A Chorus Line'' is the longest-running Broadway show ever. This week, almost eight years after it opened, Michael Bennett's Broadway show about dancers auditioning for a Broadway show will celebrate its 3,389th performance in suitably grand style. The current company of ''A Chorus Line'' will be joined by not only the original company but also the national touring company, the international company, the two bus-and-truck companies, the Las Vegas company, and members of the foreign companies - each group performing a segment of the show, and all of them appearing in the finale, 350 dancers strong. The preparations have been something of a logistical nightmare, not to mention costly. ''My guess is that this event will cost over half a million dollars,'' Mr. Bennett was saying one afternoon recently in his comfortable, sunlit office on lower Broadway. ''The show only cost $256,000 to do Off Broadway, and I rehearsed for a year!'' In the spirit of the show itself, though, the record-breaking performance will pay tribute to all the dancers who have contributed to the making of ''A Chorus Line'' and, by extension, all the dancers who are the backbone of the American musical theater. The success of the show, in turn, is a tribute to the process of making theater.