NISA: Pension Surplus Risk index inches up in February

NISA Investment Advisors' Pension Surplus Risk index was 8.2% in February, up 0.1% from January, but still lower from December's 8.8% reading.

The volatility of the return-seeking asset component of the index remained at 8.4% since the end of January, while down 60 basis points year-to-date. The liability component of the index rose 30 basis points during the month, but is down 40 basis points from the start of the year.

The average plan funding ratio was 84.9% at the end of February, an increase of 30 basis points since January, and 1.1 percentage points year-to-date.

The index is a forward-looking estimate of the funded status volatility of the 100 largest corporate pension plans as determined by NISA from publicly available information.