The aggregate funded ratio for US corporate pension plans increased by 0.2 percentage points to end February at 83.4 per cent, up nearly 7 percentage points over the trailing 12 months, according to Wilshire Consulting.
The monthly change in funding resulted from a 1.9 per cent increase in asset values which outpaced the offset from a 1.6 per cent increase in liability values.
“February marked the sixth consecutive month of rising funded ratios, which has contributed to February month-end funded ratios being the highest since November 2015,” says Ned McGuire, vice president and a member of the pension risk solutions group of Wilshire Consulting.
“This month’s increase was primarily driven by the continued post-election increase in equity markets lifting the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index 3.7 per cent during February.”
