Study: Fewer Fortune 1000 plans at high risk

Of the Fortune 1000 companies that sponsor pension plans, only 8% have pension liabilities that pose “relatively high financial risk” for the firm, according to a study from Watson Wyatt. That’s down from 17% from 2003. About 29% of Fortune 1000 companies face a moderate amount of risk, while the remaining 63% have relatively low risk levels. The findings are based on Watson Wyatt’s Pension Risk index, which measures the “potential dollar-value decline in a pension plan’s funded status under an adverse financial market scenario,” according to a release. “The potential drop in funding is then compared with the sponsoring company’s market value.”