Milliman analysis: Public pension funded ratio slips again, to 88.2% as of July 31

Milliman analysis: Public pension funded ratio slips again, to 88.2% as of July 31

Milliman PPFI plans lose $38 billion in funded status after -0.1% monthly return

Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest results of its monthly Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI), which analyzes data from the nation’s 100 largest public defined benefit plans.

During July, the Milliman PPFI plans saw an estimated aggregate return of -0.1%—the same performance observed during June—which reduced their funded status from 88.7% as of June 30 to 88.2% as of July 31. The plans lost $38 billion in funded status during the month as their market value declined $13 billion, on top of a net negative cash flow of approximately $8 billion. During July, total pension liability grew from $6.894 trillion to $6.911 trillion, and the gap between plan assets and liabilities widened from $778 billion to $816 billion.

Despite this trend, only one additional plan fell below the 60% funded mark during July. Now, only 11 plans sit below this key level, up from 10 during June, while 49 of the 100 plans remain more than 90% funded, down from 50 at June 30.