Largest employer pension plans see funding dive
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The funded status of very large pension plans sponsored by public companies fell sharply in January as tumbling interest rates boosted the value of plan liabilities, according to a Milliman Inc. survey released Thursday.
Defined benefit plans offered by U.S. employers with the 100 largest pension programs were an average of 79.6% funded as of Jan. 31, down from 83.5% funded as of Dec. 31 and 84.7% as of Nov. 30.
At the end of January, the plans had $1.493 trillion in assets and $1.876 trillion in liabilities, resulting in a funding deficit of $383 billion. This is an increase of more than $90 billion compared with the end of December, when the funding shortfall was just over $292 billion.
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