For the companies comprising the Milliman Pension Funding Study (PFS), a 7.5% decrease in plan liabilities from higher discount rates and a 9.9% average return on plan assets combined to produce a historic $198.3 billion improvement in the funded status deficit from year-end 2012.

In this unprecedented “win-win” year, the plans with the highest allocations to equity investments performed the best. Although cash contributions in 2013 were $30 billion less than expected, the overall funded ratio still soared to 87.9% (92.3% for plans with calendar-year fiscal years).