According to Swisscanto Pension Fund Monitor, as at 31 December 2010, the funded status of Swiss pension funds stagnated at the level of the preceding quarter. That means that funded statuses are de facto at the levels of the beginning of the year.
Private pension funds are financially stronger than public pension institutions.
About 60% of public pension funds were underfunded at the end of 2010, compared with 15% of private pension funds. The proportion of underfunded public pension funds is thus considerably higher than in the case of private pension funds.
Private pension funds had a funded status of 104.5% on average at the end of December 2010 compared with 104.7% at the end of the third quarter. This means that reserves for fluctuation in asset values remained practically at the same level as the preceding quarter. With an average funded status of 91.8%, public pension funds are strongly underfunded. At the end of 2009, their average funded status was 92.1%. However, thanks to the funding target of 80% voted by Parliament, they are now under less pressure than before.
The Swisscanto Pension Fund Monitor is based on the data collected from the AWP/Complementa Risiko Check-up and the Swisscanto Pension Fund Survey. The estimates as at 31.12.2010 were based on the actual indications, as at 31.12.2009, of 420 respondent pension funds with total pension assets of CHF 400 billion. The estimates were extrapolated from market trends with due regard to the investment strategies adopted by respondent pension funds at the beginning of 2010.