Updated May 2026 · DOL Form 5500 + Public Plans Database
Pension Funding Trend Reports
Across 151 pension plans tracked, the average funding ratio is 75.2%and the aggregate unfunded liability stands at $1707.7B. These reports surface the biggest movers — the plans closing their funding gaps fastest and the ones losing ground — using three or more years of DOL Form 5500 and Public Plans Database valuations.
What's Driving U.S. Pension Trends
The dominant pattern of the past three years has been a divergence between corporate and public plans. Corporate single-employer plans, disclosed through DOL Form 5500 filings, broadly improved on a reported basis as higher interest rates pushed discount rates up and compressed the present value of accrued obligations. The same dollar of future pension payments simply looks smaller on a balance sheet today than it did three years ago at lower rates.
Public plans tracked through the Public Plans Database moved in the opposite direction over the same window. Most state systems use a five-year smoothed market value of assets, which means 2022's investment losses are still phasing into reported funding ratios through subsequent valuations even when 2023 and 2024 returns were strong. Several large state plans also lowered their assumed rate of return — a more conservative actuarial posture — which made reported funding ratios fall further on paper without any real change in promised benefits.
Multiemployer plans are a third story. The Special Financial Assistance program created by the American Rescue Plan has stabilized roughly $90 billion in benefits across critical and declining plans, and the PBGC insurance program now reports the multiemployer guarantee fund with a positive net position for the first time in decades. Trend reports break down which factor dominates each plan-type cohort.
Browse All Trend Reports
Pension Plans Closest to Crisis
The worst-funded pension plans in America
Pension Plans That Improved
Biggest year-over-year funding ratio gains
How Trends Are Calculated
For each plan, we take the three most recent valuation funding ratios filed on Form 5500 Schedule SB or MB, or reported through the Public Plans Database, and compute the year-over-year change. Plans are bucketed into Improving (3-year change ≥ +5 percentage points), Worsening (≤ −5 percentage points), and Stable (in between). The Pension Health Score weights this trend at 30% of the composite, alongside funding ratio (50%) and PBGC risk (20%). Read the full methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a pension funding trend?
A pension funding trend is the direction and slope of a plan's funding ratio across multiple consecutive valuation years. PensionRisk computes 3-year trends using DOL Form 5500 Schedule SB/MB filings and Public Plans Database valuations. A plan whose funding ratio rose from 72% to 78% over three years is on a clearly improving trend; one that fell from 95% to 84% is declining despite still being well-funded today.
Are most U.S. pensions improving or worsening?
Across 151 plans tracked here, the average funding ratio is 75.2% and the aggregate unfunded liability is $1707.7B. The post-2022 period has been mixed: corporate single-employer plans broadly improved as higher discount rates compressed reported liabilities, while many state and municipal plans saw funding ratios drop as smoothed asset returns caught up to 2022's market losses. Trend direction varies enormously by plan type, sponsor financial health, and contribution discipline.
Why is one plan improving while a similar plan is declining?
Three factors usually drive divergence between superficially similar plans. First, contribution policy — sponsors who pay the full Actuarially Determined Contribution year after year close gaps; sponsors who underfund accrue them. Second, the assumed rate of return — plans that lowered the discount rate (a more conservative posture) showed reported funding ratios drop even when underlying assets held steady. Third, demographic drift — closing the plan to new entrants accelerates the active-to-retired ratio decline, which changes the cash-flow profile.
How often are these reports refreshed?
Trend reports are recomputed each time DOL EBSA publishes a new Form 5500 dataset or the Public Plans Database releases an annual update — both typically once per year for the prior plan year. The current dataset reflects filings available as of May 2026. Each underlying plan profile shows year-by-year valuation data so you can see exactly when a trend turned.
Where does this data come from?
Every reading comes from primary federal data: DOL EBSA Form 5500 filings (Schedule SB and Schedule MB) for ERISA-covered private and multiemployer plans, PBGC publications for guarantee status and critical-status designations, and the Boston College Center for Retirement Research Public Plans Database for state and municipal plans. None of these numbers are estimates or projections — they are the figures plan sponsors filed.
Across 151 pension plans tracked, average funding ratio is 75.2% and aggregate unfunded liability is $1707.7B. Trends are computed from three or more valuation years of DOL Form 5500 and Public Plans Database filings.