The aggregate funded ratio for US corporate pension plans increased by 0.9 percentage points to end the month of March at 83.9 per cent, up over 6 percentage points over the trailing 12 months, according to Wilshire Consulting.
The monthly change in funding resulted from a 0.9 per cent decrease in liability values while asset values remained relatively flat.
For the quarter, the aggregate funded ratio is up 2.0 percentage points from 81.9 per cent at the end of 2016.
“March marked the seventh consecutive month of rising or flat funded ratios, which has contributed to March month-end funded ratios being the highest since October 2015,” says Ned McGuire (pictured), vice president and a member of the pension risk solutions group of Wilshire Consulting. “This month’s increase was primarily driven by the decrease in liability values caused by the nine basis points rise in corporate bond yields used to value pension liabilities.”
