Pension plans' funding status improved again last month as stocks and interest rates continued to climb.

The typical US corporate pension plan in November saw its status inch up to 80.5 percent from 80.3 percent the prior month, according to monthly statistics published by BNY Mellon Asset Management.    

Assets for the typical plan declined 0.4 percent. A slight gain of 0.6 percent in the US equity markets was offset by a drop of 4.8 percent in international stocks, according to the BNY Mellon.

What a difference a strong stock market makes.

Thanks to the huge September surge in stock prices, the typical US corporate pension enjoyed its strongest one-month gain this year.

US corporate pension plans fell to their lowest funding level since BNY Mellon Asset Management began tracking this data in 2006.

The funded status of the typical defined benefit plan dropped 5.6 percentage points to 71.3 percent at the end of August.