Finance

Corporate Employers Flee Pensions With Gap Topping $375 Billion

Booms and busts in the market made it tough for companies to keep up.

President George W. Bush signs the Pension Protection Act in 2006.
Photographer: Chris Greenberg/Bloomberg

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By Sonali Basak, Katherine Chiglinsky, and Brandon Kochkodin

August 4, 2017 at 9:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the August 7, 2017 issue of businessweek.

The vast majority of S&P 500 companies don’t have enough money set aside to meet all their obligations to current and future retirees. There’s a total gap of at least $375 billion for the 200 largest plans. This is how they got here.

Assets in U.S. pension plans go from $186 billion to more than $2 trillion. A booming stock market helps the funds grow, since many are largely invested in equities.