February 2025

Multiemployer Pension Funding Study: Year-end 2024

By Tim Connor,Timothy Herman,Rex Barker & Nina Lantz The amounts in Figure 1 reflect the $70 billion in SFA granted to 97 plans that received the funds by December 31, 2024, including $16 billion paid during 2024. Without the SFA program, the aggregate funded percentage would be approximately 89%. The liabilities in Figure 1 are projected using discount rates equal to each plan’s actuarial assumed return on assets. Assumed returns generally fall between 6.0% and 8.0%, with a weighted average interest...

US. Milliman analysis: Multiemployer pensions approach 100% funding in aggregate at year-end 2024

Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the 2024 year-end results of its Multiemployer Pension Funding Study (MPFS), which analyzes the funded status of all U.S. multiemployer defined benefit pension plans based on assumptions and data in their latest Form 5500 filings. “Strong returns during the first and third quarters of 2024 largely drove the year’s significant rise in the aggregate funded percentage, which reached the second-highest point since Milliman launched this study in 2007” Post this As...

UPS to deliver $1.2 billion to U.S. pension plans in 2025

United Parcel Service Inc., Atlanta, plans to contribute $1.2 billion to its U.S. pension plans in 2025. The shipping company disclosed its plans in its Feb. 18 10-K filing with the SEC. UPS previously contributed $1.2 billion each to the U.S. pension plans in 2024 and 2023 and $2 billion to the plans in 2022. In 2024, UPS hired Goldman Sachs Asset Management to provide outsourced CIO services for its U.S. pension plans. As of Sept. 30, UPS’ team of 22 investment...

U.S. corporate funding surpluses rise in January — Wilshire and LGIMA

U.S. corporate pension funding surpluses vaulted higher in January, thanks to a strong month of returns across global equities, according to estimates from Wilshire Advisors and Legal & General Investment Management America. First, Wilshire estimated the aggregate funding ratio of U.S. corporate plans reached 105.4% as of Jan. 31, an increase of 1.8 percentage points from the firm's updated 103.6% funding ratio as of Dec. 31. Ned McGuire, managing director at Wilshire, said in a news release Feb. 5 that the...

UK. Pensions industry could save members ‘millions’ in private market fees, report finds

The UK workplace pension industry could have the opportunity to save "hundreds of millions of pounds" for savers when it comes to investing in private markets, a report from The People’s Pension has suggested. The paper found that while there are nearly £1bn in potential fee savings available, no master trust currently has the scale to fully take advantage, which aligns with the government's own recent calculations, which suggested that investing in private markets delivers little additional value at current...

US. DOL’s New Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database Goes Live

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has officially launched its Retirement Savings Lost and Found database. Although the database is not complete, DOL will continue to make improvements over the next several months. DOL needs ongoing assistance and participation from plan administrators to get information on plan participants who have left their places of employment. While submission of this information by plan administrators is voluntary, DOL hopes to receive sufficient information to create the most effective database possible. Plan administrators...

December 2024

UK Government denies compensation to Waspi women

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended the decision to reject compensation for women hit by changes to the state pension age, arguing that the taxpayer "simply can't afford the tens of billions of pounds" in payments. He added that "90% of those impacted knew about the changes that were taking place". However, during Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir was repeatedly pressed on the government's decision, with one MP calling for a vote. The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign group say that...

November Sees Another Gain in Corporate Pension Funded Status

The funded ratios of defined benefit corporate pension plans in the U.S. rose in November, with strong market returns offsetting a drop in discount rates, according to tracking by some of the country’s largest pension consultancies. Milliman Inc., which tracks 100 of the largest corporate pension plans through its monthly index, reported that funded ratios rose to 103.5% as of November 30, outdoing the end of October’s 103.2%. The average market gains of 1.88% lifted the value of the plan assets Milliman tracks...

U.S. corporate pension funding surpluses rise in November — 3 reports

U.S. corporate pension funding ratios jumped in November thanks to positive market returns, according to three new reports. First, Wilshire Advisors estimated the aggregate funding ratio of U.S. corporate plans reached 103.5% as of Nov. 30, an increase of 1.4 percentage points above the 102.1% funding ratio estimated by the firm as of Oct. 31. “November’s increase in funded status was primarily driven by positive asset returns across most asset classes, with the FT Wilshire 5000 Index reaching an all-time high...

Thousands of Volkswagen workers strike at factories across Germany

Thousands of Volkswagen workers in Germany went on strike on Monday after the company announced plans to close three plants and slash pensions. Tens of thousands of employees with the IG Metall union stopped work at 9:30 a.m. The strike is set to last two hours, a process which will be repeated by the late shift. Nine of Volkswagen’s car and component factories in Germany were affected by the so-called warning strikes, with work either being halted temporarily for demonstrations or shifts...