But under a reasonable set of assumptions, perhaps $ billion of last year’s S&P 500 funding gap, or about one-quarter of the total, apparently has already been closed by improved market conditions. And what about the longer-term prognosis for S&P 500 firms?
Assuming current discount rates and normal pension asset returns, these firms would need to make about $ billion in contributions to close the funding gap over the next three years. And once the current funding hole is filled, these firms would still need to make contributions to cover their rising liabilities.