Pension Funding Slightly Better

Corporate pension plans grew slightly as U.S. equities gained and bond yields ticked up, according to Bank of New York Mellon Asset Management report. Liabilities for pension plans ease as rates on bonds rise.

Assets rose by 1.8% while liabilities fell by 0.1% in U.S. corporate plans, according to the February BNY Mellon Pension Summary Report. That continues a three-month trend, Peter Austin, executive director of BNY Mellon Pension Services, said in a March 5 announcement. “A strong performance from U.S. stocks, particularly small cap and mid cap, boosted the assets of U.S. corporate pension plans,” he said, adding, “Plans also benefited from a slight increase in the Aa corporate bond rate, which moved from 5.92 percent to 5.96 percent.”