The funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans decreased by $19 billion during October, as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI). A large decrease in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates resulted in a $30-billion increase in pension liabilities during the month. However, plan assets also increased due to investment returns that exceeded expectations, partially offsetting the overall funding decline. The PFI funded ratio dipped from 114.5% at the end of September to 112.4% as of October 31.
October’s 1.43% investment return lifted the market value of the Milliman 100 PFI assets by $11 billion, to $1.274 trillion as of October 31. By comparison, the 2026 Milliman Pension Funding Study reported that the monthly expected investment return for fiscal year 2025 was 0.53% (6.61% annualized). The full results of the annual 2026 study can be found at www.milliman.com/pfs.
The Milliman 100 PFI projected benefit obligation rose to $1.133 trillion during October. The change resulted from a decrease of 27 basis points (bps) in the monthly discount rate, to 6.20% for October from 6.47% in September.
Highlights
| $ BILLION | FUNDED PERCENTAGE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MV | PBO | FUNDED STATUS | ||
| September | 1,263 | 1,103 | 160 | 114.5% |
| October | 1,274 | 1,133 | 141 | 112.4% |
| Monthly change | +11 | +30 | (19) | -2.1% |
| YTD change | (31) | (97) | +66 | 6.3% |
Note: Numbers may not add up precisely due to rounding
Over the last 12 months (November 2025 – October 2026), the cumulative asset return for these plans was 3.39%, and the Milliman 100 PFI funded status position improved by $76 billion. The funded status increase was primarily the result of discount rate increases. Discount rates experienced a net increase of 87 bps during the period, up to 6.20% from 5.33% one year ago. The funded ratio of the Milliman 100 companies has improved over the past 12 months, to 112.4% from 105.2%.
Figure 1: Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index — Pension surplus/deficit
Figure 2: Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index — Pension funded ratio
2026-2027 projections
If the Milliman 100 PFI companies were to achieve the expected 6.61% asset return (as per the 2026 PFS), and if the current discount rate of 6.20% remains unchanged throughout 2026 and 2027, we forecast that the funded status of the surveyed plans will increase. The pension surplus is projected to be $143 billion (funded ratio of 112.6%) by the end of 2026 and $152 billion (funded ratio of 113.4%) by the end of 2027. For purposes of this forecast, we have assumed 2026 and 2027 aggregate annual contributions of $15 billion.
Under an optimistic forecast with rising interest rates (reaching 6.30% by the end of 2026 and 6.90% by the end of 2027) and annual asset returns of 10.61%, the funded ratio is projected to climb to 114% by the end of 2026 and 127% by the end of 2027. Under a pessimistic forecast with similar interest rate and asset movements (6.10% discount rate at the end of 2026 and 5.50% by the end of 2027 and 2.61% annual asset returns), the funded ratio is projected to decline to 111% by the end of 2026 and 101% by the end of 2027.
Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index - September 2026 (all dollar amounts in millions)
Pension asset and liability returns
About the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index
For the past 26 years, Milliman has conducted an annual study of the 100 largest defined benefit pension plans sponsored by U.S. public companies. The Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index projects the funded status for pension plans included in our study, reflecting the impact of market returns and interest rate changes on pension funded status, utilizing the actual reported asset values, liabilities, and asset allocations of the companies’ pension plans.
The results of the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index were based on the actual pension plan accounting information disclosed in the footnotes to the companies’ annual reports for the 2025 fiscal year and for previous fiscal years. This pension plan accounting disclosure information was summarized as part of the Milliman 2026 Pension Funding Study, which was published on April 21, 2026. In addition to providing the financial information on the funded status of U.S. qualified pension plans, the footnotes may also include figures for the companies’ nonqualified and foreign plans, both of which are often unfunded or subject to different funding standards than those for U.S. qualified pension plans. They do not represent the funded status of the companies’ U.S. qualified pension plans under ERISA.