Large employers' pension plan funding best since 2008: Mercer
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The funded status of pension plans sponsored by large U.S. employers rose slightly in July, climbing on strong returns in the equities markets to reach its highest point in nearly five years, according to a Mercer L.L.C. analysis released Monday.
On average, pension plans sponsored by companies in the S&P 1500 were 89% funded as of July 31, up from 88% at the end of June and 74% at the end of 2012.
Pension funding levels haven't been that high since October 2008, when plans also were 89% funded on average.
Mercer estimated that 17% of plan sponsors had overfunded pension plans at the end of June, compared with just 4% as of the end of last year.
“So far, plan sponsors are having a great year in terms of funded status improvement,” Jonathan Barry, a partner in Mercer's retirement consulting group in Boston, said in a statement.
In aggregate, the plans' funding deficit in July fell by $10 billion to $212 billion, down from $222 billion at the end of June and sharply lower than the record deficit of $557 billion at the end of last year.
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