NISA Investment Advisors' Pension Surplus Risk index fell 10 basis points in May to 7%, the third consecutive monthly decline; the index is down 180 basis points from the end of 2016.
The volatility of the return-seeking asset component of the index was 7.6%, down 40 basis points from April 30 (includes retroactive updates of April data), and down 140 basis points from Dec. 31. The volatility of the liability component of the index held steady at 8.1% in May and is down 100 basis points year-to-date.
The average plan funding ratio was 85% at the end of May, a 10-basis-point decline from April's reading, but up 1.2 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.
