January 2023

US. The Value of Corporate Pension Assets Fell Dramatically. Here’s Why That Doesn’t Matter

Corporate pension funds had a boring year — if the only measure you look at is funded status. After all, according to WTW data published recently, funded status — the amount a pension has on hand to meet obligations — stayed flat year-over-year at 95 percent. Goldman Sachs data on corporate plans, meanwhile, estimates that funded status increased, from 98 percent in 2021 to 100 percent in 2022. But these numbers obfuscate the level of volatility that corporate plan investors faced...

U.S. corporate pension funding holds steady at 95% despite market volatility

  U.S. corporate pension plan funding ratios remained steady in 2022 despite significant market volatility, according to a new analysis from Willis Towers Watson. The analysis, which examined pension plan data from 356 Fortune 1000 companies, estimated their aggregate funding ratio to be 95% at the end of 2022, the same as a year earlier. According to the analysis, Willis Towers Watson estimated that the pension plans finished 2022 with $1.22 trillion in assets, down 26% from $1.65 trillion a year earlier,...

December 2022

Equity Gains Boost U.S. Public Pension Funding Status, Says Milliman

Strong market gains during October and November helped the estimated funded levels of the 100 largest public pension plans in the U.S. rebound to 74.7%, as of Nov. 30, from 71.6% a month earlier, according to consulting firm Milliman’s public pension funding index. It was a sharp turnaround from September, when poor market performance erased more than five percentage points from the funded ratio during the month alone. The aggregate asset value of the pension funds increased by approximately $158...

UK. Pensions regulator unveils consultation on defined benefit funding

A draft funding code of conduct and consultation on defined benefit (DB) pension schemes has been unveiled by The Pensions Regulator, requiring trustees to think carefully about risk management to improve security for their members. Under the draft code and consultation, schemes will be expected to set a long-term objective and a “journey plan” for achieving it. The regulator expects schemes will reduce their reliance on sponsoring employers as they reach maturity. The consultation requires trustees to raise the bar...

U.S. public pension funding improves in November – Milliman

The overall estimated funding ratio of the 100 largest U.S. public pension plans rose to 74.7% at the end of November thanks to positive market returns, according to the Milliman 100 Public Pension Funding index. During the month of November, Milliman estimated that public pension plans had an aggregate investment return of 4.7%, with an estimated range of 2.5% to 7.2%. It was the second month in a row that estimated funding ratios rose because of market returns. Milliman estimated that...

U.S. corporate pension plans’ funding ratios remained over or near 100% in November

U.S. corporate pension plans' funding ratios remained over or near 100% in November, but four reports said ratios dropped slightly because rising discount rates offset strong investment returns for the period. The estimated funding ratio of the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension funds fell to 111.2% as of Nov. 30, down from 113.3% as of Oct. 31, according to the latest Milliman 100 Pension Funding index. The slight dip was driven by the discount rate decreasing to 5.16% as of Nov....

November 2022

The Financialization of U.S. Public Pensions, 1945-1974

By Sean Vanatta This article examines a major transformation public employee pension investment in the United States, from investing public funds in public infrastructure in the 1940s and 1950s, to investing public funds in private securities—corporate bonds, stocks, and mortgages—in the 1960s and 1970s. Three factors drove this change. First, in the adjacent field of professional asset management, motivated financial elites orchestrated a shift in state-level trust law, from legally-sanctioned investment lists, which encouraged amateur investment and safety, to the...

U.S. Pension Funding Ratios Continue to Increase

Better equity performance and higher interest rates in October contribute to pensions nearing full funding. Aon’s Pension Risk Tracker in October reached its highest funded status level since its’ inception in 2011, as the aggregate pension funded status of S&P 500 companies increased to 97.2%. from 93.8% in September. Aon reports that pension asset returned 0.8% in October. The Aon report was one of several, released since the end of October, that showed improvements. The month-end 10-yr Treasury rate increased 27 basis...

US. Here’s why you should be worried about state and local pensions

Public pensions may be facing a massive fiscal shortfall, according to two economics professors Right now, across America, about 26 million people are relying on state and local pension plans to take care of them in their retirement years. That figure includes 15 million retired teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public sector workers, and another 11 million who are still working. On the other side of the leger all the taxpayers— 330 million of us, give or take —who are...

October 2022

US. Funding Status of Pensions Increases Marginally Despite Equity Market Downturn

Corporate pension funding ratio improves to best rate of the year in September despite 2022’s worst month of market losses Rising rates in September contributed to higher overall funded ratio for corporate pension funds. Equities continued their year-long slump with the Nasdaq trading down over 10% and S&P 500 trading down 9.6% on the month. The dynamic led to at least two pension consultants finding that U.S. corporate pension funding levels moved above 100% in September as an increase in the...