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Pension Funding Index: Funded status improves in April by $29 billion
By: Milliman | May 2019

The Milliman 100 PFI funded ratio increases to 91.4%, discount rates rise, solid investment performance continues

The funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans increased by $29 billion during April as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI). The deficit fell to $145 billion from $174 billion at the end of March due to an increase in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value pension liabilities. The funded status improvement was also supported by investment gains during April. As of April 30, the funded ratio rose to 91.4%, up from 89.7% at the end of March.

April’s robust 1.09% investment gain increased Milliman 100 PFI asset values by $13 billion to $1.536 trillion at the end of April. By comparison, the 2019 Milliman Pension Funding Study reported that the monthly median expected investment return during 2018 was 0.53% (6.6% annualized). The full results of the annual 2019 study can be found at milliman.com/pfs.

The Milliman 100 PFI projected benefit obligation (PBO) decreased by $16 billion during April to $1.681 trillion. The change resulted from an increase of seven basis points in the monthly discount rate to 3.85% for April from 3.78% in March.

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