Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, Tuesday released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation's largest defined benefit pension plans. In March, these plans experienced a $5 billion increase in pension liabilities in a month with flat investment return, resulting in a $5 billion increase in the pension funded status deficit.

"It was a brutal first quarter, with the deficit for these 100 pensions climbing by $79 billion due to a combination of asset underperformance and interest rate decreases," said John Ehrhardt, co-author of the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index. Funded status greatly improved during 2013 but things have changed course in the first quarter of 2014 as the funding ratio has dropped to 84%."

Looking forward, if the Milliman 100 pension plans were to achieve the expected 7.4% median asset return for their pension portfolios, and if the current discount rate of 4.30% were maintained, funded status would improve, with the funded status deficit shrinking to $232 billion (86.1% funded ratio) by the end of 2014 and to $182 billion (89.1% funded ratio) by the end of 2015.

To view the complete study, go to http://us.milliman.com/pfi/.