Union Pension Plans Hit Record 106% Funded at Midyear 2026, Milliman Finds

Multiemployer union pension plans just posted their strongest funding numbers in the history of the study that tracks them. Milliman’s Multiemployer Pension Funding Study (MPFS) found that, in aggregate, these plans reached a 106% funded level as of June 30, 2026 — up from 103% at year-end 2025, and the highest aggregate percentage recorded since the study began in 2007.

A record built on markets and a federal rescue

Two forces pushed the number higher. First, a strong six-month stretch for investment markets: Milliman’s simplified investment portfolio returned an estimated 5.6% for the first half of 2026. Second, the continued effect of federal Special Financial Assistance (SFA), the American Rescue Plan Act program that bails out previously insolvent or near-insolvent multiemployer plans. As of this update, nearly $78 billion has been distributed to 161 plans under SFA — and that money alone accounts for roughly 9 percentage points of the aggregate 106% figure.

The plans in the study also reported about $37 billion in annual contributions against roughly $25 billion in annual benefit payments and administrative expenses, leaving an aggregate surplus of about $55 billion. Tim Connor, an MPFS co-author, said plans are benefiting from “strong investment markets and contribution levels that outpace plan costs,” while cautioning trustees to keep “evaluat[ing] the resilience of their funding and investment strategies” as demographic and economic conditions shift.

This isn’t one plan — it’s the whole picture improving

This midyear snapshot is broader than any single fund. It follows Milliman’s own year-end 2025 study, which covered 1,180 multiemployer plans and already called 103% the highest level in the study’s 18-year history at the time — and it builds on plan-specific good news already covered here, like the Central States Teamsters plan’s roughly 98% funded status after its own federal rescue. The midyear 2026 update is the first industry-wide snapshot showing the broad universe of multiemployer plans — not just the largest previously troubled ones — at a record high together.

What a fully funded pension does, and doesn’t, pay for

A fully funded pension is genuinely good news for the retirement income of the union members who depend on it. But it’s worth being precise about what that funding percentage measures: it’s a plan’s ability to keep paying the monthly retirement benefits it has promised. It was never designed to pay a lump sum for a $8,000-to-$13,000 funeral bill, final medical costs, or other expenses that land on a family the moment someone passes. Most multiemployer pensions offer little to no death benefit for survivors beyond, at most, a limited spousal continuation of the monthly income — and that income stops entirely once both spouses are gone.

That’s the specific, predictable gap that final expense and whole life coverage are built to close. A pension pays income while a retiree is alive; a life insurance policy pays a fixed benefit the moment they’re not — two different jobs, and a strong pension funding number doesn’t make the second one unnecessary. For union households layering retirement income with final-expense planning, our cost guide and free calculator are a starting point, and who we serve covers the union and retiree households we work with most.

Source

• LifeHealthPro: Multiemployer Pensions’ Aggregate Funding Level Reaches 106% at Midyear 2026 (Milliman)
• Milliman: Multiemployer Pension Funding Study

Frequently Asked Questions

How well funded are multiemployer union pensions in 2026?

Milliman’s Multiemployer Pension Funding Study found an aggregate funded percentage of 106% as of June 30, 2026 — up from 103% at year-end 2025 and the highest level recorded since the study began in 2007.

What’s driving the improvement?

A strong six-month investment return of about 5.6%, contributions that continue to outpace benefit payments and expenses, and federal Special Financial Assistance — nearly $78 billion distributed to 161 previously troubled plans, which alone accounts for roughly 9 percentage points of the aggregate funded ratio.

Does a fully funded pension cover funeral or final expenses?

Generally, no. A pension pays ongoing retirement income, and most multiemployer plans offer little to no lump-sum death benefit for survivors. Final expense or whole life coverage is designed to fill that specific gap.