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.