NISA Investment Advisors' Pension Surplus Risk index dropped another 40 basis points in July to 6.7% after falling 10 basis points during the prior month.
The index is down 210 basis points over the trailing 12-month period.
The volatility of the return-seeking asset component of the index was 7.5%, down 40 basis points from the end of June, and down 110 basis points since July 2016. The volatility of the liability component of the index fell to 7.9% in July from 8.2% in June; the liability component was down 80 basis points since July 2016.
The average plan funding ratio was 85.5%, up slightly from June's 85.1% reading.
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.