Pension Funding Levels Down to 80 Percent, Mercer Says
The company’s analysis estimates that the aggregate funded level of plans sponsored by companies in the S&P 1500 at the end of November was 80 percent, down from 97 percent at the end of September and 104 percent at the end of 2007.
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December 3, 2008
Pension Funding Levels Down to 80 Percent, Mercer Says
Hammered by the plunge in the equities market, the funded level of
defined-benefit pension plans sponsored by the nation's largest publicly held
corporations fell dramatically last month, according to an analysis released
Tuesday, December 2.
The Mercer analysis estimates that the aggregate funded level of plans
sponsored by companies in the S&P 1500 at the end of November was 80
percent, down from 97 percent at the end of September and 104 percent at the end
of 2007.
"October and November were particularly bad months for pension plans. Falling
equity values and falling corporate bond yields have resulted in the sharpest
decline in funded status in more than a decade," Adrian Hartshorn, a Mercer
principal in New York, said in a statement.
In all, pension plan liabilities of companies in the S&P 1500 exceeded
assets by $280 billion. That compares with a surplus of $60 billion at the end
of last year.
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