The average funded status of U.S. corporate pension plans improved in October, with liabilities climbing an average 1%, compared with 1.7% in September, and the average value of plan assets increasing an average of 2.5%, compared with a September increase of 1.5%, according to the Mellon Pension Liability indexes.
Double-digit equity returns year-to-date Oct. 31 and interest rate hikes during the first five months of the year improved the funded status of the average plan by 7.8% for the first 10 months of the year, according to a Mellon news release. The assets of an average plan increased 9.3% as of Oct. 31 over Jan. 1, while liabilities were 1.5% higher.
The Mellon Pension Liability indexes are a set of benchmarks that uses current discount rates to measure the performance of liabilities.
