Largest pensions slip again in February

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.