Corporate Pensions and the Maturity Structure of Debt

In this article, we investigate the role of pension obligations, the most significant off-balance-sheet item, in determining corporate debt maturity and spreads. We begin by showing a significant and robust positive relationship between pension liabilities and corporate short-term debt ratio. We also find that more pension obligations cause a significant increase in the cost of debt, but this effect is mitigated by short-maturity debt. Overall, our study shows that short-term debt can reduce asymmetric information costs related to pensions.