Skip to main content

You are here

Advertisement

Milliman: Pension Plan Liabilities Grew in March

Pension funding status slipped in March and liabilities grew, says a report by consulting and actuarial firm Milliman, Inc. Milliman reports that for 100 of the largest U.S. DB plans, pension liabilities grew to the tune of a collective $5 billion. Milliman blamed a drop in the monthly discount rate to 4.30 percent, down 0.08 from February’s 4.32 percent. 

At the same time that pension liabilities grew, Milliman says investment returns grew a meager 0.29 percent in March. As a result, its pension funding index asset value for those 100 plans held at the February month’s-end level of $1.399 trillion. 

Milliman also reported that the funding ratio for pension plans has fallen by approximately 4 percent in the first quarter, including a slight drop in March. 

The Milliman report is the latest sobering news for pension plans, which generally this year have seen a reversal of 2013’s sharp improvements in funding status. Mercer recently reported that the funding ratio of DB plans sponsored by employers in the S&P 1500 fell in March.

***

John Iekel is Senior Writer and Editor for the ASPPA Net and NTSA Net web portals.