October 2025
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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June 2025
20Jun

Milliman analysis: Competitive pension risk transfer cost decreases to 100.8% during May

Milliman analysis: Competitive pension risk transfer cost decreases to 100.8% during May Competitive bidding process saves about 3.6% of buyout costs as of May 31 Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the latest results of its Milliman Pension Buyout Index (MPBI). During May, the estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk to an insurer in a competitive bidding process dropped from 101.1% to 100.8% of a plan’s accounting liabilities (accumulated benefit obligation, or ABO). That means the...

June 20, 2025
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17Jun

US. Largest Corporate Pension Plans Add $22B in May

U.S. corporate pension funds continued to recover in May, as higher bond yields drove down plan liabilities, and pension assets increased. The funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans increased by nearly $22 billion in May, according to Milliman. The funded ratio of the DB plans rose to 104.9% from 103%. The increase erased the losses from a rocky first quarter of the year, bringing the funded status above 103.6%, where it started 2025. Pensions assets increased...

June 17, 2025
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12Jun

Half of DB Sponsors Plan to Stay in the ‘Pension Ecosystem’

Fewer defined benefit plan sponsors are considering terminating their pension funds as other risk management strategies such as plan design changes or limited risk transfers appear more attractive. Fully half of plan sponsors do not intend to terminate their DB plans, up from 36.7% in 2023 and 28.3% in 2021, according to Mercer’s 2025 CFO Survey, shared in a webinar on Wednesday. The survey is based on responses from 173 chief financial officers and senior finance executives. “A lot of the plans...

June 12, 2025
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02Jun

US. Milliman analysis: Public pension funding stable in April after plans end volatile month with slight market gain

Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest results of its Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI), which analyzes data from the nation’s 100 largest public defined benefit plans. Despite April market swings caused by trade and tariff uncertainty, the Milliman 100 PPFI plans closed the month with estimated investment gains of 0.4% in aggregate. Individual plans’ estimated returns ranged from -1.8% to 1.4%. Combined, the plans added about $24 billion in market value during the...

June 2, 2025
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