The top 100 U.S. corporate pension plans in aggregate were overfunded for the second year in a row, according to Pensions & Investments‹ review of annual reports. The plans had an aggregate funding surplus of $111.1 billion in 2007, based on projected benefit obligations, up from $37.3 billion in 2006. In 2005, the 100 plans were underfunded by $50.6 billion; in 2004, they were underfunded by $69.5 billion.
Of the top 100 plans, 64 had funding surpluses at the end of 2007, a 42.2% increase from 2006. At the height of the corporate pension funding crisis in 2002 — when the top 100 plans were underfunded by an aggregate $151 billion — there were only 14 plans with funded ratios over 100%.