The Funded Status of Public Plans Keeps Improving – Albeit Modestly

[Jean-Pierre Aubry]

The brief’s key findings are:

• The estimated ratio of pension assets to promised benefits has increased over the last two years by 1.5 percentage points to 77.7 percent.
• This increase reflects a boost in assets from higher contributions and solid returns, and the realization of benefit cuts scheduled for new employees.
• The impact of these positive fundamentals is partially offset by: 1) negative cash flows associated with maturing plans; and 2) basic growth in benefit liabilities.