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S&P 500 Company Pension Funding Ratio Falls in 2014

"The funding ratio of pension plans sponsored by S&P 500 companies fell 6.7 percentage points to 81.2% in 2014, said new research from S&P Dow Jones Indices.... The report also indicated underfunded levels for other post-employment benefit funds increased 7.9% to $195.6 billion in 2014. The funding ratio of those trusts declined to 26.7% from 28.5%."

S&P Finds Health Care Cost Increases Decelerate in August

"Data released ... by S&P Dow Jones Indices for the S&P Healthcare Economic Composite Index indicates that the average per capita cost of healthcare services covered by commercial insurance and Medicare programs increased by 5.70% over the 12-months ending August 2012. This is a deceleration from the +6.15% annual growth rate recorded in July 2012."

S&P 500 Companies Post Record Level of Pension Underfunding (PDF)

"Data shows that S&P 500 defined [benefit] pensions reached an underfunding status of $451.7 billion in fiscal 2012, a $97 billion increase over the $354.7 billion posted in 2011 and a $200+ billion increase over the $245 billion posted in 2010. OPEB underfunded levels increased to $234.9 billion in 2012 from $223.4 billion in 2011 and $210.1 billion at the end of 2010. Combined, the amount of assets that S&P 500 companies set aside to fund pensions and OPEB amounted to $1.60 trillion in 2012, covering $2.29 trillion in obligations with the resulting underfunding equating to $687 billion, or a 70.0% overall funding rate."

Record $355 Billion Pension Underfunding for S&P 500 Companies

"Turning [our] attention from public pension funds -- which are suffering from underfunding and paltry rates of return -- to corporate pension funds, we find, well, a lot of the exact same problems. Defined-benefit pensions at S&P 500 companies reached a record underfunding level of $354.7 billion at the end of 2011, an increase of more than $100 billion from 2010 and surpassing the $308.4 billion record underfunding level set in 2008, according to a new study by S&P Dow Jones Indices. Underfunding for other post-employment benefits [such as retiree health care], or OPEBs, increased to $223.4 billion in 2011 from $210.1 billion in 2010."

Health Care Costs Decelerated in June

"Data released ... by S&P Dow Jones Indices for the S&P Healthcare Economic Composite Index indicates that the average per capita cost of healthcare services covered by commercial insurance and Medicare programs increased by 5.78% over the 12-months ending June 2012. This is a deceleration from the +6.06% annual growth rate recorded in May 2012 and +6.11% rate in April 2012."

Company Pensions in Peril as Underfunding Hits Record

"Young workers may want to start counting on something other than company pensions to fund their retirements.... [T]he plans of S&P 500 companies are underfunded to the tune of $451.7 billion, a number that has grown some 27 percent in just the last year alone, according to data released Wednesday by S&P Dow Jones Indices. While firms have plenty of cash to cover older workers currently on the payroll or in pension plans, that may not be the same once the younger generation gets ready to stop working."

The SPIVA Scorecard: A Must-Read for 401(k) Fiduciaries

"Published by S&P Dow Jones Indices, the semi-annual report measures the percentage of actively-managed funds that outperform their market index benchmark over specific periods of time, net of fees.... [The year-end 2018 SPIVA Scorecard ] found only a small percentage of actively-managed funds outperform the market over time. The takeaway for 401(k) fiduciaries? There is a very good chance that low-cost passively-managed index funds and ETFs that seek to match -- not beat -- the market will offer superior investment returns over the long term."

How Longevity Risk is Shaping the Retirement Investment Landscape (PDF)

13 pages. "A two-prong investing and funding framework is discussed in this paper, based on the recognition that the human lifespan in retirement can be best viewed as consisting of a definable normal period and an undefinable tail period. For the normal period, we can borrow from the available toolset in wealth management on accumulation and decumulation of wealth; for the tail period, we may consider deferred income annuity."

For First Time, Employer-Provided Coverage Less Costly Than Individual Coverage

"A new report from S&P Dow Jones Indices found the average per member per month cost for individual plans has rapidly increased since 2013 and is now around 10 percent higher than the cost of employer plans.... The report questions whether the ACA rules are strong enough to entice the majority of the healthy population to maintain or add coverage in the individual market."