Milliman Analysis: Bad Year for Pensions Ends Badly
consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its
latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation's
largest defined benefit pension plans. In December, these pensions
epitomized the poor performance of 2011, experiencing a
decrease in pension funded status. The bad month cemented a bad year,
leaving these 100 pensions with a
corporate pensions faced record underfunding.
"This was an unusually dispiriting year for these 100 pensions," said
"Assets treaded water this year, producing an anemic
increase in value as record-low interest rates increased pension
liabilities by
The full implications of this bad year have yet to be determined and
will be illustrated in detail by the 2012 Milliman Pension Funding
Study, due out in the spring of 2012.
While 2011 was a bad year, the year-end 72.4% funded ratio still could
not eclipse the record of 70.5% set in
To view the complete study, go to http://ow.ly/4xFIt. To receive
regular updates of Milliman's pension funding analysis, contact us at
About Milliman
Milliman is among the world's largest independent actuarial and
consulting firms. Founded in 1947 as Milliman & Robertson, the
company currently has 54 offices in key locations worldwide. Milliman
employs over 2,500 people. The firm has consulting practices in
healthcare, employee benefits, property & casualty insurance, life
insurance and financial services. Milliman serves the full spectrum
of business, financial, government, union, education and nonprofit
organizations. For further information, visit http://www.milliman.com
About the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index
For the past 11 years, Milliman has conducted an annual study of the
100 largest defined benefit pension plans sponsored by U.S. public
companies. The Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index projects the funded
status for pension plans included in our study, reflecting the monthly
impact of market returns and interest-rate changes on pension funded
status, utilizing the actual reported asset values, liabilities, and
asset allocations of the companies' pension plans.
The results of the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index were based on
the actual pension plan accounting information disclosed in the
footnotes to the companies' annual reports for the preceding fiscal
year and for previous fiscal years. In addition to providing the
financial information on the funded status of U.S. qualified pension
plans, the footnotes may also include figures for the companies'
nonqualified and foreign plans, both of which are often unfunded or
subject to funding standards different from those for U.S. qualified
pension plans. The results do not represent the funded status of the
companies' U.S. qualified pension plans under ERISA.
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Copyright: | (c) 2012 The Associated Press |
Source: | Associated Press |
Wordcount: | 491 |
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