Nearly two-thirds of calendar-year multiemployer plans have a funded status above 80%, and 28% of them are fully funded, according to a Segal Consulting survey released Friday.
One-fourth of plans are in either critical, or critical and declining status, the survey said. While only 10% of the plans surveyed are considered critical and declining, with projected depletion within 20 years, some of them are very large, and "are unlikely to recover without some form of financial assistance," Diane Gleave, Segal senior vice president and actuary, said in a statement.
Between 2017 and 2018, 50% of plans improved their funded status, while 13% saw no change, and 37% saw a decline.
The survey also found that in 2017, the plans averaged a 13.3% rate of return net of fees.
The annual survey covers 200 clients with calendar-year plans submitting certifications that were due in March, providing a current funding snapshot of what Segal said is representative of the multiemployer universe. The plans have nearly $110 billion in assets between them and cover 2.3 million participants.
