Dietrich Pension Risk Transfer Index up this month

The rise in the index was precipitated by an increase in the average funded status of pension plans. The annuity discount proxy rate contained within the index also rose, by seven basis points to 2.61 percent.

Over the course of the last month, the market enjoyed a perfect storm of rising asset values and interest rates which contributed to an improvement in the funded status of a typical pension plan. The result was a reduction in the settlement cost environment which piqued the interest of pension committees in considering increasing their allocations to fixed income and pension settlements in order to take advantage of the favorable market conditions.