A record number of Japanese corporate pension funds were wound up last year as plan sponsors struggled to contain rising costs, corporate collapses and falling investment returns, according to a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on Tuesday.
The report identified 59 firms which had closed their pension funds – twice as many as in 2000. Some companies, including Mitsukoshi Ltd. And Nissho Iwai Corp., plan to introduce defined-contribution pension plans instead.