The largest employer contributions to pension plans in five years weren’t enough to cover defined benefit liabilities in 2012, according to research released this morning by Towers Watson. An analysis of the 100 largest U.S. pension sponsors finds that their collective funding status fell for the second consecutive year.
Towers Watson reports that employers contributed $45.1 billion to their pension plans last year, up from $38.9 billion in 2011. Companies contributed more than twice the amount of benefits accrued last year in order to keep funding levels up, but it wasn’t enough: pension deficits jumped 17%, or $42.5 billion, to $295.2 billion at year-end 2012.
