The funded ratio for Towers Perrin's benchmark pension plan dropped 2.2% to 80.4% in August, compared with an 85.2% funded ratio at the beginning of the year, according to Towers Perrin's HR Services group. Long bond yields in August dropped 25 to 30 basis points across various categories, compared with the Moody's AA rate, which dropped 25 basis points to 5.76%. Equity returns in August were negligible, as domestic small-cap to midcap stocks returned -0.3% and domestic large-cap and international stocks returned 0.4%.
Towers Perrin's benchmark plan has 60/40 split between equity and fixed income. The total plan returned 0.9% in August and 1.5% year-to-date.
