The Markets July 2, 2014

Corporate Pension Liabilities Declined in June

The funded status of corporate defined benefit (DB) plans in the United States increased to 92% during June, with liabilities decreasing 0.2% during the month.
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A recent analysis by the BNY Mellon Investment Strategy and Solutions Group (ISSG) shows that the funded status of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan increased 1.4 percentage points in June, driven by rising asset values.

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The BNY Mellon Institutional Scorecard for June notes assets at the typical corporate plan rose 1.4%. Year to date, the funded status of corporate plans is down 3.2 percentage points, according to the scorecard.

“Corporate plans also benefited from a slight rise in interest rates, which reduced liabilities,” says Andrew D. Wozniak, head of fiduciary solutions, ISSG, based in New York. “June ended a string of three consecutive months of falling rates, which had been driving liabilities higher.

“Equities have continued rallying since April as economic data appears to indicate strengthening global growth,” Wozniak adds. “If the funded status continues to rise, we expect more plans to implement strategies that better insulate them from future market volatility.”

The decrease in liabilities for corporate plans in June was due mainly to a four-basis-point increase in the Aa corporate discount rate, which reached 4.32%. Plan liabilities are calculated using the yields of long-term investment grade bonds. Higher yields on these bonds result in lower liabilities.

The BNY Mellon Investment Strategy and Solutions Group is a division of The Bank of New York Mellon.

Data & Research July 2, 2014

Affluent Women Investors Eager for Advice, LIMRA Says

Women are more likely than men to be concerned about risks related to longevity during the approach to retirement, according to a LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute survey of older Americans.
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Survey results show that women age 50 to 75 are more likely than men in the same age range to have significant concerns about running out of money in retirement—with 46% of men and 35% of women in the age group citing longevity concerns. LIMRA researchers point to the fact that the median wage for women in the age range is only 83% of that of men as a partial explanation of the disparity.

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Over a career, a lower salary combined with breaks in employment taken to care for children and other family members often leads to less retirement savings for women, the survey suggests, as well as lower Social Security income. These issues, along with the fact that women usually live longer in retirement than men, compound the challenges women face as they plan for retirement, LIMRA says.

The good news is women see more value in getting professional advice, which could help them invest more appropriately and implement helpful savings strategies to maximize retirement assets. Indeed, nearly seven in 10 women believe financial advice relationships provide the chance to achieve a greater measure of financial security beyond what can be accomplished without an advisory relationship. Only half of the men surveyed agreed with that statement.

Other findings suggest more women than men trust advice from a financial professional, and a majority of women said financial advice is worth the money. 

Saving for retirement is a challenge for both women and men but women often face greater obstacles throughout their working years where professional advice can be invaluable, LIMRA concludes. Working with a financial adviser can give women the strategies to ensure they have the financial wherewithal to achieve a secure retirement.

A new blog entry in the LIMRA Industry Trends publication, “Concerned about Money in Retirement, Women See Value in Financial Advice,” explores the survey results in more detail. More information is also available at www.secureretirementinstitute.com.

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