Large public employers' pension funding levels down in February
Reprints
The funding levels of pension plans sponsored by large publicly held U.S. employers dipped slightly in February as lower interest rates boosting the value of plan liabilities offset robust investment returns, Milliman Inc. said in an analysis released Wednesday.
Defined benefit plans offered by the 100 U.S. employers with the largest pension programs were on average 81.5% funded as of Feb. 28. That's down 81.7% at end of January, but much higher compared with a funded ratio of 76.5% as of Dec. 31.
“Assets continued to climb in February, but as usual it was interest rates that ultimately drove pension funded status,” John Ehrhardt, a Milliman consulting actuary in New York, said in a statement.
“Thanks to cooperative interest rates in January, we are still ahead for the year. Even with the Dow hitting new record highs, it will ultimately be interest rates that dictate the pension funding story in 2013,” he added.
In all, the plans were underfunded by $311 billion compared with $305 billion at the end of January and a $411 billion shortfall as of Dec. 31.
