January's slumping stocks sap big pension plans
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Hit by the slump in the equities market, the funded status of very large pension plans sponsored by public companies fell sharply in January, according to a Milliman Inc. survey released Monday.
Defined benefit plans offered by U.S. employers with the 100 largest pension programs were an average of 80.9% funded as of Jan. 31, down from 82.7% funded as of Dec. 31.
“A 1.46% decline in asset values was the last thing these pensions needed after flat performance in 2015,” Zorast Wadia, a Milliman principal and consulting actuary in New York, said in a statement.
“About the only good news is that the market declines and expanding liabilities weren't enough to drop these pensions below 80% as was the case a year ago on Jan. 31,” Mr. Wadia added.
At the end of January, the plans had $1.384 trillion in assets, and $1.710 trillion in liabilities, resulting in a funding deficit of about $326 billion, an increase of about $31 billion from the end of December.
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