The estimated funded status of the 100 largest U.S. public pension plans improved by $48 billion from the end of June through the end of September as measured by the Milliman 100 Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI). The market value of plan assets increased by an estimated $86 billion as a result of relatively healthy investment returns of 3.49% for the quarter. The Milliman 100 PPFI asset value increased from $3.197 trillion at the end of the second quarter to $3.282 trillion at the end of the third quarter. The total pension liability increased from $4.583 trillion at the end of the second quarter to an estimated $4.620 trillion at the end of the third quarter.