Defined Benefits

Higher premiums have spurred some large plan sponsors to buy group annuities to off-load, or de-risk, their pension liabilities.

That amount represents about $1 of every $4 invested in hedge funds, the Alternative Investment Management Association says.

United Parcel Service Inc. forecast 2015 earnings growth that will be short of a long-term goal as it faces higher pension contributions and a stronger dollar.

Earnings on pension fund investments skyrocketed 311.9 percent, from $93.1 billion in 2012 to $383.3 billion in 2013.

Beyond settling with the Justice Department, S&P also reached a $125 million settlement with the California Public Employees Retirement System.

The company says no prospective buyers of the business would have assumed the pension plan and its liabilities.