November 2025
04Nov

US Public Pension Market Bubble Exposure Remains High

Robust market valuations in recent years have supported funding progress for U.S. state and local defined benefit pension plans. However, public pensions remain underfunded and fundamentally exposed to market volatility. A market shock could increase the burden of state and local pension liabilities and drive contributions higher, says Fitch Ratings. Governments with weaker liability metrics and high carrying cost burdens could be most vulnerable to rating pressure. Post-global financial crisis, plan sponsors took various policy actions such as reducing benefits...

November 4, 2025
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October 2025
31Oct

Behavioral Biases of Financial Planners: The Case of Retirement Funding Recommendations

By Vishaal Baulkaran & Pawan Jain We examine whether financial planners display common behavioral biases and whether these biases affect their recommendations for various home equity release options to fund retirement income. First, we show that different factors explain different behavioral biases. Second, we show that different behavioral biases affect financial planners’ comfort level and recommendations for various options to fund extra income during retirement. For instance, female planners, planners with advanced degrees and those from non-bank institutions display less...

October 31, 2025
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30Oct

US. State Pension Funding Levels Stayed Stable Despite Volatility

The reported funding gap for state pension plans—the disparity between promised benefits and available assets—was $1.32 trillion in 2023, according to 50-state data collected by The Pew Charitable Trusts. This represents a $44.7 billion increase over 2022, driven primarily by increases to liabilities from benefit changes and differences between what plans assumed for salaries, longevity, and similar workforce and demographic trends and what actually happened. However, even amid volatile markets, state funds showed signs of resilience. The overall funded ratio—the...

October 30, 2025
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22Oct

US. Corporate Pension Funding Ratios Hit Highest Level Since 2007

The funded ratio for the largest 100 corporate defined benefit plans improved to 106.5% in September, the highest level since October 2007 (108.1%) and up from 106.3% in August, according to Milliman’s pension funding index. September’s market returns of 2.5% added $26 billion to the market value of plan assets and swelled the funding status surplus to $80 billion last month. Meanwhile, discount rates dropped 17 basis points to 5.36%, which raised plan liabilities by $22 billion. During the third...

October 22, 2025
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21Oct

US. Options for Overfunded Pension Plans

You’ve done a good job making sure that the pension plan is fully funded. So good, in fact, that you — and the plan — are overachievers and the plan is fully funded and then some. And THAT surplus spells…opportunity. The Grist Funding of pension plans generally has been on an upward trajectory for a number of years. The improvement in funded status has been dramatic, yet incremental. Willis Towers Watson’s figures show as much: they show that the funding of a hypothetical benchmark...

October 21, 2025
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14Oct

US government shut down and rising government borrowing costs, but still pension funding soars

The quarter end was abruptly followed by the US government going into shutdown following a lack of agreement on funding measures into the new US fiscal year, which started on 1 October. This follows a quarter where the cost of government borrowing and above-target inflation remain key challenges for major global economies. Paradoxically, this market dynamic is serving pension schemes very well... Quarter in brief US government shutdown following funding shortfall The Bank of England and the Federal Reserve cut borrowing costs despite...

October 14, 2025
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August 2025
22Aug

Economic and Distributional Effects of Demographic Shifts: Evaluating Pay-as-You-Go and Fully Funded Pension Schemes Based on the Greek Experience

By Zois Gerasimos Katsimigas & Christos Papatheodorou This paper examines economic and distributional consequences of demographic shifts by comparing pay-as-you-go (PAYG) and fully funded (FF) pension schemes in a macroeconomic framework, using Greece as a case study. Facing acute ageing and population decline, Greece provides a unique context to assess the performance of these schemes. We develop a post-Keynesian stock-flow consistent (SFC) model calibrated to the Greek economy to simulate the macroeconomic and distributional outcomes of both schemes under projected...

August 22, 2025
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20Aug

US. Multiemployer Pensions Reach Historic Full Funding Status

U.S. defined benefit multiemployer pensions have been fully funded for the first time in the history of Millman’s Multiemployer Pension Funding Study, the firm reported today. The funding level improved by three percentage points, up from 97% as of December 31, 2024, to 100% as of June 30, an all-time high since the inception of the study in 2007. Milliman’s data are based on standard actuarial assumptions and data in the latest Form 5500 filings from all U.S. multiemployer plans. The funding shortfall...

August 20, 2025
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July 2025
29Jul

US. Full Funding: Good News, But Now What?

Pension plan funding levels have been high for a number of years. Fully funded high, and then some. That’s good news, of course. But that raises a question: “Now what?” Industry experts in a July 23 P&I Online webinar discussed steps that a plan sponsor, and the service providers it enlists, can and may want to take once a plan reaches full funding levels or more. Panelists included Mark Tavares, Partner and Lead of Corporate Defined Benefit Solutions at Aon;...

July 29, 2025
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15Jul

Funded Status of U.S. Corporate Pension Plans Rose Again in June

Strong investment returns for both equities and bonds drove pension fund investments higher and funding levels for U.S. corporate pensions improved in June for the third consecutive month. The funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans increased to 105.1% from 104.9% and improved by $3 billion in the month, according to Milliman’s June Pension Funding Index. In May, a decrease in liabilities, due to higher bond yields, drove up pension funding. In June, “liabilities actually increased because...

July 15, 2025
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