A solid investment performance in 2013 led to “notable improvement” in the funding status of multiemployer plans, according to Milliman’s inaugural Multiemployer Pension Funding Study.

Funding shortfalls declined by $45 billion in 2013, and the aggregate funding percentage increased from 72 percent in 2012 to 81 percent in 2013.

Liabilities, in the form of accrued benefits, actually increased by $14 billion to $585 billion.

But the market value of invested assets increased by $59 billion, thanks to the strong performance in equity markets.

Nonetheless, the shortfall in funding stood at $112 billion at the end of 2013, according to Milliman.

While news of improved funding levels is no doubt welcome to the beneficiaries and proponents of multiemployer plans, which are collectively bargained contracts with labor unions, the study points out that as a whole, they have yet to recover to their funding level before the financial crisis.

The aggregate funding percentage in 2007 for multiemployer plans was 85 percent.

The improvement in 2013’s funding level from the previous year was also due in part to increased contributions to plans and benefit reductions as underfunded MEPs responded to the financial crisis.

“One common misconception is that plans should be back on their feet because the stock market has surpassed its levels from before the financial crisis,” note the study’s authors.

But as markets have risen, so too have MEP liabilities—at an average of 7.5 percent annually.

That means stock market indices would have to be 50 percent higher than they are today to have kept pace with liability growth, according to the study.

In 2007, 71 percent of plans were funded at 80 percent of liabilities. In 2013, only 63 percent can claim as much.

And there were more plans in 2013 that were at “red zone” status, meaning they were funded below 65 percent (15 percent), than there were in 2007 (9 percent).

In its annual report released last summer, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. projected its MEP program deficit could rise to $47 billion by 2023.

PBGC, which now has $1.8 billion in its MEP insurance fund, is calling on Congress to authorize an increase in premiums paid by plans.

For 2014, each multiemployer plan pays an annual insurance premium of $12 per participant, according to PBGC’s website.

Nationwide, about 1,400 MEPs cover 10.4 million participants. PBGC’s annual report suggests as many as 1.5 million beneficiaries in 175 plans could be left without benefits.

The Government Accountability Office has said that as many as 25 percent of MEPs will exhaust their resources in the next 30 years. Analysis from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College estimates that figure to be closer to 35 percent.

Milliman’s new research draws dramatically different conclusions than the CRR’s.

CRR data show that as many as 27 percent of MEPs are in the red zone—funded below 65 percent.

Milliman data show that of the 1,294 plans it analyzed in 2013, 15 percent were in the red zone—a small fraction of CRR’s estimates.

Instant Insights /

Multiemployer plan funding shows &lsquo;notable improvement&rsquo;

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Multiemployer plan funding shows ‘notable improvement’