Many of the 19 largest U.S.-based corporate defined-benefit plans are not expected to increase their plan contributions in 2015, according to a report from Russell Investments.

This comes in spite of seeing an average drop of more than 6 percent in their funding status.

In public disclosures, 15 of the 19 largest sponsors of traditional pension plans have already said they will not be required to contribute any significant amount to their plans in 2015.

Russell said it is expecting contributions by these sponsors to decline this year by 30 percent, in part because they’re taking advantage of “pension smoothing” regulations that allows sponsors to delay making mandatory pension contributions.

The companies are part of what Russell calls the “$20 billion club,” publicly traded corporations with worldwide defined benefit pension liabilities in excess of $20 billion each. Understanding the actions of this group gives other DB plan sponsors and their advisors a glimpse into the thoughts of those who collectively manage over $750 billion in pension assets, Russell says.

Only four of the firms are expecting to contribute $1 billion or more to their plans in 2015, according to the companies’ SEC filings.

In 2011, as plans aggressively sought to recover from a decline in funding ratios after the recession, 11 of the companies contributed at least that much.

Now, three — United Technologies, Lockheed Martin and General Motors — have announced they don’t expect to have to meet a contribution requirement for years to come.

Also, in another big change, the largest of these sponsors last year sharpened their focus on liability-driven strategies – meaning they boosted their fixed-income investments – as opposed to equity-heavy portfolios.

In 2010, not one of the largest plans had more than 45 percent of it portfolio allocated to fixed-income. The average allocation was 34 percent. As of last year, that average rose to 40 percent, with five sponsors increasing their allocation to 45 percent or more, Russell said.

“An increase in the overall allocation to fixed-income is typically a signal that a sponsor is trying to increase its liability hedge,” Justin Owens, a senior asset allocation strategist for Russell, said in a report.

The report cites Ford Motor Co. as being one of the first of the largest sponsors to shift its strategy to an LDI focus.

Ford began increasing its fixed-income allocation in 2007. Previously, up to 70 percent of the auto maker’s pension’s assets had been invested in equities.

But in the effort to reduce volatility in its funding status, Ford pared back equities to about 55 percent of its portfolio, and has said its ultimate target is to have up to 80 percent of assets invested in fixed-income, according the report.

For Ford, the LDI strategy is working, so far. In 2014, Ford’s plan improved its funding by 1 percent — the only company on the list tracked by Russell to see an improvement.

That was in spite of an increase in plan liabilities for it and the rest of group, the result of a decline in discount rates, which are used to project future liabilities. In 2014, the average decline in the discount rate was 84 basis points for the biggest plans, from 4.87 percent to 4.04 percent, the key reason for the average decline in funding status, said the report.

Verizon, which was the second best-performing of the largest plans last year, lost only 1 percent in its funding status, thanks to aggressively contributing to its plan. The telecommunications giant made a cash infusion of 7 percent of its total obligation, the largest of the group.

Total cash contributions by the 19 plans last year came to about $17.5 billion. That figure totaled $28 billion in 2012, a record.

On the other end of the spectrum, GE contributed little to its fund last year and maintained a focus on asset returns. The company’s pension funding status dropped about 10 percentage points.

Instant Insights /

Minimal contributions expected by largest corporate pensions

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