The funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans eroded slightly last month, falling from 85.3 percent in June to 85 percent in July, following a brief uptick from May to June. 

That's the word from the latest Milliman 100 Pension Funding index report on the condition of the largest U.S. corporate funds. 

"Over the last 12 months (August 2013 to July 2014), the cumulative asset return for these pensions has been 11 percent but the Milliman 100 PFI funded status deficit has worsened by $36 billion," Millman said. "The drop in funded status over the past 12 months is primarily due to the decline in interest rates. Since July 31, 2013, the discount rate has dropped 63 basis points to 4.10 percent from 4.73 percent." 

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Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.