A review of 124 multiemployer pension plans by Moody’sshows they were collectively underfunded by $337 billion at the endof 2014.

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Together, the plans’ funding level is 47 percent, according tothe ratings agency, which said it expects the funding levels tohave potentially worsened significantly since 2014, in light of“anemic” stock market and fixed income returns in 2015.

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Between 2008 and 2014, the collective obligations of the 124plans increased by $262 billion, from $377 billion to $639 billion.During the same period, plan assets increased by only $90 billion,according to Moody’s.

The 2008 financial crisis wiped out $80 billion, or one quarterof the plans’ collective assets. From that point on, the “writingwas on the wall” regarding the struggle for many multiemployerplans to meet future pension obligations.

“When a plan is only 50 percent funded, assets must work twiceas hard to keep up with obligations,” write Moody’s analysts in aresearch report dated July 13. “Plan assets just couldn’t keep upby solely relying on market returns.”

During the six-year period tracked by Moody’s, the discountrates used to project future obligations fell by 145 basispoints.

But sponsor contributions did not increase accordingly, thereport shows. In 2015, the 124 multiemployer plan sponsorscollectively contributed $15 billion, which was “virtuallyunchanged” from 2013.

Moody’s report compares the discrepancy in risk managementapproaches between multi-employer and single employer pensionsponsors.

As many single-employer pension sponsors have taken an activede-risking approach to managing pension obligations since 2008,multiemployer plans have had to rely on riskier assets to maximizereturns.

At the end of 2014, the 124 multi-employer plans held 80 percentof assets in “riskier” categories, compared to 60 percent of assetsin more volatile investments in single-employer plans.

About 46 percent of multiemployer assets were invested inequities at the end of 2014, compared to about 36 percent insingle-employer plans. Single-employer plans had nearly twice theinvestment in fixed-income investments than multiemployer plans,which collectively held about 22 percent of assets in fixedincome.

Of the 124 multiemployer plans reviewed by Moody’s, 51 hadfunded ratios below 50 percent.

Four multiemployer pensions had a funding level less than 30percent at the end of 2014: the Food Employees Labor RelationsAssociation and United Food and CommercialWorkers pension plan at 22.3 percent; the Carpenters PensionTrust Fund — Detroit and vicinity at 24.4 percent; the TruckingEmployees of North Jersey Welfare Fund pension at 25.3 percent; andthe New York State Teamsters Conference Pension and Retirement fundat 29.8 percent.

Among the plans reviewed by Moody’s, 11 had funding levels above70 percent.

The three best funded multiemployer pensions at the end of 2014were the Seafarers Pension Trust funded at 120.2 percent; the NewEngland Carpenters Guaranteed Annuity Fund at 110.1 percent; andthe Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore at 94.4 percent.