January's slumping stocks sap big pension plans

Hit by the slump in the equities market, the funded status of very large pension plans sponsored by public companies fell sharply in January, according to a Milliman Inc. survey released Monday.

Defined benefit plans offered by U.S. employers with the 100 largest pension programs were an average of 80.9% funded as of Jan. 31, down from 82.7% funded as of Dec. 31.

“A 1.46% decline in asset values was the last thing these pensions needed after flat performance in 2015,” Zorast Wadia, a Milliman principal and consulting actuary in New York, said in a statement.

“About the only good news is that the market declines and expanding liabilities weren't enough to drop these pensions below 80% as was the case a year ago on Jan. 31,” Mr. Wadia added.

At the end of January, the plans had $1.384 trillion in assets, and $1.710 trillion in liabilities, resulting in a funding deficit of about $326 billion, an increase of about $31 billion from the end of December.