U.S. corporate pension plan funding surpluses grew in February thanks to positive returns from growth assets as well as falling liabilities, according to four new reports.

Wilshire Advisors estimated the aggregate funding ratio of U.S. corporate plans reached 109.4% as of Feb. 29, up from 106% a month earlier.

“U.S. corporate pension plans have maintained their overfunded status for 14 consecutive months since early 2023,” said Ned McGuire, managing director at Wilshire, in a news release March 6. “February’s increase in funded status was attributed to a decline in liability values, driven by a nearly 30-basis-point rise in corporate bond yields and an increase in asset values.”

“The FT Wilshire 5000, along with other major equity indices, achieved all-time highs in February, countering negative bond returns caused by rising fixed income yields,” McGuire added. “The positive trend in asset and downward trend in liability values has the estimated funded ratio at its highest since Wilshire began tracking in late 2014.”

Wilshire’s assumed asset allocation is 31% long-duration fixed income, 28% core fixed income, 25% domestic equity, 14% international equity and 2% real estate.

Legal & General Investment Management America estimated the average funding ratio of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan rose to 107.3% as of Feb. 29 from 103.9% as of Jan. 31.

In its latest monthly Pension Solutions Monitor, LGIMA said the estimated average funding ratio rose due to a strong equity market in January, in addition to falling liability values.

The monitor cited the S&P 500 index and MSCI ACWI Total Gross index gaining 5.3% and 4.3%, respectively, during the period. Also, the monitor estimated that plan discount rates increased 27 basis points during February, with the Treasury component increasing by 23 basis points and the credit component widening by 4 basis points.

The Pension Solutions Monitor assumes a typical liability profile using a duration of 12 years and an asset allocation of 50% MSCI ACWI index and 50% Bloomberg U.S. Long Government/Credit index.

In another monthly report, Insight Investment said the funding ratio for U.S. corporate pension plans increased to 111.7% at the end of February, up from 108.2% a month earlier. Insight’s report echoed the others in citing a growth in assets plus falling liabilities for the impressive hike in funding ratios.

According to Insight’s estimate, the discount rate increased 22 basis points in February.

Finally, in a fourth monthly report, Aon said the aggregate funding ratio of S&P 500 companies that sponsor defined benefit plans rose to 104.2% as of Feb. 29, up from 100.9% a month earlier.

Aon said pension assets returned 0.3% during February, and the interest rates used to value pension liabilities rose to 5.34% from the previous rate of 5.12% estimated a month earlier.

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