The defined benefit assets of S&P companies with pension plans decreased by 23% last year to $1.6 trillion from $2.1 trillion, based on the Aon Pension Risk Tracker that estimates the daily funded status. The increase in interest rates drove pension liabilities 22% lower to $1.7 trillion.
The funding deficit rose to $108.5 billion from $97.8 billion at the end of 2021, per Aon Investments USA’s calculation. S&P 500 companies’ aggregate funding ratio fell to 93.8% from 95.5%.