The funded status of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans improved by $16 billion in March, according to a new
The largest U.S. pension plans experienced no asset growth in March, but did see liabilities decrease by $16 billion. The deficit in these pension plans decreased to $172 billion in March from $188 billion at the end of February.
"Last month's neutral asset performance illustrates the liability-driven nature of the corporate pension funding deficit," says John Ehrhardt, co-author of the Milliman study. "These pensions saw a healthy increase brought on almost entirely by rising interest rates."
Since the start of 2011, the funded status of the pension plans has jumped by $56 billion due to a combination of asset gains and interest rate increases. During the first quarter of 2011, the funded ratio of these plans increased to 87.8% from 84.1%, according to Milliman’s study.
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