Largest pensions slip again in February
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Hit by falling interest rates, which boosted plan liabilities, the funded status of very large pension plans sponsored by public companies slipped in February, according to a Milliman Inc. survey released Tuesday.
Defined benefit plans offered by U.S. employers with the 100 largest pension programs were an average of 79.1% funded as of Feb. 29, down from 80.8% in January and 82.7% funded as of Dec. 31.
“The pension funding deficit continues to move in the wrong direction,” Zorast Wadia, a Milliman principal and consulting actuary in New York, said in a statement. “In January, poor asset performance drove declining funded status. In February, interest rates were the culprits. We're off to a rough start in 2016,” Mr. Wadia added.
At the end of February, the plans had $1.376 trillion in assets, and $1.740 trillion in liabilities, resulting in a funding deficit of about $364 billion, an increase of about $35 billion compared to the end of January.
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