Pension plans have been fraught with volatility in both the equity and interest rate sectors. While the last two years have seen relatively solid growth in equities, interest rates have been quite a different story to the downside.
It is because of these two diverging market moves, notes Matt McDaniel, partner and business leader in the retirement practice with Mercer, that pension plan funded status was relatively high in 2013 at about 94%. With interest rates falling, funded status dropped in 2015 to 74%. Weve made up some of that ground since then, but it continues to be a bumpy ride, he says.
