Key Themes for Corporate Pensions in 2023

2022 left many investors reeling, as both equity and bond markets fell in tandem.

Despite this turbulent backdrop, the funded ratios of U.S. corporate pension plans actually continued to improve, so much so that the average U.S. Corporate Plan is now fully funded on an accounting basis, according to data from BlackRock’s U.S. Pension Funding Update. 

In the fifth annual publication of our U.S. Corporate Pension Themes paper, we are encouraging clients to use their well-funded plan to their advantage.  

With inflation still high, the labor market continues to be intensely competitive.

Having a well-funded defined-benefit plan may prove in 2023 to be advantageous to U.S. corporations: helping them retain employees while also preserving capital for other uses.

Other themes covered in this years’ publication include:

The implications of rising rates,

Rethinking diversification,

Seizing the opportunity to protect a plans’ funded status,

And lastly, we cover the spectrum of ways that corporate plans can delegate investment authority.

As a fiduciary to our clients, we at BlackRock aim to offer concrete advice that can help pensions preserve their healthy financial positions, and ultimately, improve retirement security for their workers.

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