Retirement Trends

The $150 million amount, which had been mentioned in Macys 10-K filing with the SEC in April, was the same amount contributed in 2012.

An 87-basis-point surge in interest rates and an 11.2 percent investment gain in 2013 powered a historic year in corporate pension funded status improvement, gaining $318 billion for the year.

Stocks climbed, paring this years loss for the Standard & Poors 500 Index, as Macys Inc. rallied and jobless claims fell before the start of corporate earnings season.

Lincoln National Corp., the No. 2 seller of U.S. individual variable annuities, doubled last year, leading the S&P 500 life insurer gauge.

The Census Bureau has found that although the elderly were less likely to fall in and out of poverty during this time span, once they fell into poverty they stayed there for the entire three years of the study.

The changes were fueled by the mortgage crisis, which hindered retired individuals by reducing their ability to tap into home equity to help pay for health care or monthly bills