Global Pension Risk Survey 2023 U.S. Findings

Global Pension Risk Survey 2023 U.S. Findings

Global Pension Risk Survey 2023 - U.S. Findings

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For at least 30 years, people have predicted that U.S. private sector pension plans would disappear, yet they are still around.

What is the status of the U.S. private sector pension market today?

It is true that private sector pensions are not growing, but the U.S. results of our Global Pension Risk Survey—as well as anecdotal evidence from our consulting work—show that most plan sponsors expect their plans to stay around for many years to come. That is, 78% of respondents said that their long-term objective is something other than plan termination. 

This is particularly notable because plans are now better funded than they’ve been in years. For the U.S. results of this Global Pension Risk Survey—our 9th update since 2008—we split the report into two mini-reports: one for the sponsors reporting an objective to terminate their plans and another for those continuing to support their plans.

What does the report provide insights on?
  • Ongoing Plans 
    • Key Themes and Trends Among Ongoing Plans 
    • De-Risking Method Trends 
    • Predictions for Ongoing Plans 
  • Plans with the Long-Term Objective of Termination
    • Liability Management Strategies 
    • Key Steps for Successful Plan Termination Investment Strategy 
    • Predictions for Terminating Plans
Who are the survey respondents?

We received 118 responses from U.S. pension plans in the private sector, with 22% reporting a long-term objective to terminate their plan, and the other 78% reporting different variations of maintaining the plan over the long-term.

To create the 2023 U.S. report for the Global Pension Risk Survey, Aon relied on a survey of Aon’s contacts with U.S. single employer pension plans, conducted from April through June 2023. Responses from the survey were analyzed and aggregated to create summary results. Respondents received no incentive for taking part in the survey.

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