Large firms' pension plan funding up in December: Milliman
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Aided by higher interest rates and positive investment performance, the funding levels of pension plans sponsored by large publicly held U.S. employers moved up in December, Milliman Inc. said in an analysis released Monday.
Defined benefit plans offered by the 100 U.S. employers with the largest pension programs were on average 76.4% funded of Dec. 31. That's up from 74% in November and 72.6% in October, but well below the 78.7% average funding level at the end of 2011.
In all, the plans were underfunded by $411.8 billion as of Dec. 31, 2012, the biggest year-end funding deficit in the 12 years Milliman has conducted such surveys.
While plan funding moved up in December, funding levels during the year were “volatile,” Milliman noted.
In March, for example, the plans, on average, were 85% funded. Average funding levels, though, declined in each of the next four months, until bottoming out at 70.9% at the end of July.
During 2011, the cumulative investment return was 9.3%, while plan liabilities rose 14.4%, largely due to falling interest rates.
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Pension plan funding levels higher in September: Milliman
Funding levels of pension plans sponsored by large publicly held U.S. employers moved up in September as higher interest rates reduced the value of plan liabilities and investment gains boosted the value of plan assets, Milliman Inc. said in an analysis released Thursday.
