The funding of a typical U.S. pension plan improved by 3.9 percentage points last month, according to Mellon Financial.

“U.S. stock markets had an excellent month, sending pension plan asset values higher,” says Peter Austin, executive director of Mellon pension services. “At the same time, long-maturity interest rates increased 20 basis points in May, reducing the value of pension liabilities significantly.”

Assets of a moderate risk pension portfolio increased 1.7% in May, while the value of typical pension liabilities fell 2.2%.

For the year to date, the typical plan is ahead by 7.5 percentage points.

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