Note 15 – Retirement Plans

We have retirement plans that cover substantially all employees. The plans generally provide for employee retirement between the ages 60 and 65, and benefits based on length of service and compensation, as defined.

Our Board of Directors approved plan amendments that froze the following retirement plans:

Retirement Plan for the Employees of John Wiley & Sons, Canada was frozen effective December 31, 2015;

Retirement Plan for the Employees of John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., a U.K. plan was frozen effective April 30, 2015 and;

U.S. Employees' Retirement Plan, Supplemental Benefit Plan, and Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan, were frozen effective June 30, 2013.

We maintain the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan for certain officers and senior management which provides for the payment of supplemental retirement benefits after the termination of employment for 10 years or in a lifetime annuity. Under certain circumstances, including a change of control as defined, the payment of such amounts could be accelerated on a present value basis. Future accrued benefits to the Plan have been discontinued as noted above.

The components of net pension expense (income) for the defined benefit plans and the weighted average assumptions were as follows:

	2018						2017						2016
	U.S.			Non-U.S.			U.S.			Non-U.S.			U.S.			Non-U.S.
Service Cost	$	—		$	960		$	—		$	967		$	—		$	1,455
Interest Cost		11,666			13,876			12,398			14,449			13,612			16,446
Expected Return on Plan Assets		(13,154	)		(26,385	)		(14,053	)		(21,173	)		(14,756	)		(25,088	)
Net Amortization of Prior Service Cost		(154	)		57			(154	)		54			(154	)		55
Recognized Net Actuarial Loss		2,289			3,832			2,622			2,553			2,240			2,475
Curtailment/Settlement Loss		-			19			8,842			—			1,857			—
Net Pension Expense (Income)	$	647		$	(7,641	)	$	9,655		$	(3,150	)	$	2,799		$	(4,657	)

Discount Rate		4.1	%		2.6	%		4.0	%		3.5	%		4.2	%		3.5	%
Rate of Compensation Increase		N/A			3.0	%		N/A			3.0	%		N/A			3.0	%
Expected Return on Plan Assets		6.8	%		6.5	%		6.8	%		6.7	%		6.8	%		6.7	%

We announced a voluntary, limited-time opportunity for terminated vested employees who are participants in the U.S. Employees' Retirement Plan of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (the "Pension Plan") to request early payment of their entire Pension Plan benefit in the form of a single lump sum payment. Eligible participants who wished to receive the lump sum payment were required to make an election by August 29, 2016. Approximately 780 eligible participants made the election to receive the lump sum totaling $28.3 million which was paid from pension plan assets in October 2016. Settlement accounting rules were applied, which resulted in a plan remeasurement and recognition of a pro-rata portion of unamortized net actuarial loss of $8.8 million which was recorded in Operating and Administrative Expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Income in fiscal year 2017. The curtailment/settlement loss in fiscal year 2016 of $1.9 million, noted above, related to a disability payment made subject to terms of the our Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan.

The projected benefit obligation, accumulated benefit obligation, and fair value of plan assets for the retirement plans with accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets were $820.4 million, $787.6 million and $624.4 million, respectively, as of April 30, 2018, and $800.1 million, $753.3 million, and $579.7 million, respectively, as of April 30, 2017.

The Recognized Net Actuarial Loss for each fiscal year is calculated using the "corridor method," which reflects the amortization of the net loss at the beginning of the fiscal year in excess of 10% of the greater of the market value of plan assets or the projected benefit obligation. The amortization period is based on the average expected life of plan participants.

We recognize the overfunded or underfunded status of defined benefit postretirement plans, measured as the difference between the fair value of plan assets and the projected benefit obligation, on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. The change in the funded status of the plan is recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. Plan assets and obligations are measured at fair value as of our balance sheet date.

The amounts in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss that are expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost during the next fiscal year are as follows:

	U.S.			Non-U.S.		Total
Actuarial Loss	$	1,905		$	3,998	$	5,903
Prior Service Cost		(154	)		61		(93	)
Total	$	1,751		$	4,059	$	5,810

The following table sets forth the changes in and the status of our defined benefit plans' assets and benefit obligations:

	2018						2017
	U.S.			Non-U.S.			U.S.			Non-U.S.
CHANGE IN PLAN ASSETS
Fair Value of Plan Assets, Beginning of Year	$	200,001		$	390,133		$	215,923		$	352,484
Actual Return on Plan Assets		15,352			2,780			17,345			75,432
Employer Contributions		5,020			8,385			10,463			14,041
Employee Contributions		—			—			—			—
Settlements		—			(239	)		(28,258	)		—
Benefits Paid		(15,390	)		(15,909	)		(15,472	)		(9,487	)
Foreign Currency Rate Changes		—			34,298			—			(42,337	)
Fair Value, End of Year	$	204,983		$	419,448		$	200,001		$	390,133
CHANGE IN PROJECTED BENEFIT OBLIGATION
Benefit Obligation, Beginning of Year	$	(290,785	)	$	(519,588	)	$	(336,908	)	$	(461,161	)
Service Cost		—			(960	)		—			(967	)
Interest Cost		(11,666	)		(13,876	)		(12,398	)		(14,449	)
Actuarial Gains (Losses)		7,417			23,528			14,791			(105,151	)
Benefits Paid		15,390			15,909			15,472			9,487
Foreign Currency Rate Changes		—			(45,938	)		—			52,653
Settlements and Other		—			239			28,258			—
Benefit Obligation, End of Year	$	(279,644	)	$	(540,686	)	$	(290,785	)	$	(519,588	)
Underfunded Status, End of Year	$	(74,661	)	$	(121,238	)	$	(90,784	)	$	(129,455	)
AMOUNTS RECOGNIZED ON THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
Other Noncurrent Assets		—			—			—			134
Current Pension Liability		(4,818	)		(780	)		(4,977	)		(799	)
Noncurrent Pension Liability		(69,843	)		(120,458	)		(85,807	)		(128,790	)
Net Amount Recognized in Statement of Financial Position	$	(74,661	)	$	(121,238	)	$	(90,784	)	$	(129,455	)
AMOUNTS RECOGNIZED IN ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (BEFORE TAX) CONSIST OF
Net Actuarial (Losses)	$	(82,636	)	$	(183,316	)	$	(94,539	)	$	(171,601	)
Prior Service Cost Gains (Losses)		2,562			(441	)		2,716			(448	)
Total Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss	$	(80,074	)	$	(183,757	)	$	(91,823	)	$	(172,049	)
Change in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss	$	11,749		$	(11,708	)	$	29,394		$	(32,221	)
WEIGHTED AVERAGE ASSUMPTIONS USED IN DETERMINING ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
Discount Rate		4.3	%		2.6	%		4.1	%		2.6	%
Rate of Compensation Increase		N/A			3.0	%		N/A			3.0	%
Accumulated Benefit Obligations	$	(279,644	)	$	(507,932	)	$	(290,785	)	$	(472,841	)

Pension plan assets/investments:

The investment guidelines for the defined benefit pension plans are established based upon an evaluation of market conditions, plan liabilities, cash requirements for benefit payments, and tolerance for risk. Investment guidelines include the use of actively and passively managed securities. The investment objective is to ensure that funds are available to meet the plans benefit obligations when they are due. The investment strategy is to invest in high quality and diversified equity and debt securities to achieve our long-term expectation. The plans' risk management practices provide guidance to the investment managers, including guidelines for asset concentration, credit rating and liquidity. Asset allocation favors a balanced portfolio, with a global aggregated target allocation of approximately 49% equity securities, 50% fixed income securities and cash, and 1% real estate. Due to volatility in the market, the target allocation is not always desirable and asset allocations will fluctuate between acceptable ranges of plus or minus 5%. We regularly review the investment allocations and periodically rebalance investments to the target allocations. We categorize our pension assets into three levels based upon the assumptions (inputs) used to price the assets. Level 1 provides the most reliable measure of fair value, whereas Level 3 generally requires significant management judgment. The three levels are defined as follows:



Level 1: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.



Level 2: Observable inputs other than those included in Level 1. For example, quoted prices for similar assets in active markets or quoted prices for identical assets in inactive markets.



Level 3: Unobservable inputs reflecting assumptions about the inputs used in pricing the asset.

We did not maintain any level 3 assets during fiscal years 2018 and 2017. In accordance with ASU 2015-07, "Fair Value Measurement ("Topic 820"), certain investments that are measured at fair value using the net asset value ("NAV") per share (or its equivalent) practical expedient do not have to be classified in the fair value hierarchy. We adopted ASU 2015-07 in fiscal year 2018 and it was applied retrospectively to all periods presented. The fair value amounts presented in the following tables are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented for the total pension benefit plan assets. The following tables set forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, pension plan assets at their fair value as of April 30:

	2018						2017
	Level 1		Level 2		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Total
U.S. Plan Assets
Investments measured at NAV:
Global Equity Securities: Limited Partnership					$	95,933					$	91,397
Fixed Income Securities: Commingled Trust Funds						100,295						95,922
Other: Real Estate Commingled Trust Fund						8,755						12,682
Total Assets at NAV					$	204,983					$	200,001

Non-U.S. Plan Assets
Equity Securities:
U.S. Equities	$	—	$	31,203	$	31,203	$	—	$	28,598	$	28,598
Non-U.S. Equities		—		96,387		96,387		—		85,961		85,961
Balanced Managed Funds		—		91,743		91,743		10,196		69,453		79,649
Fixed Income Securities: Commingled Funds		—		197,804		197,804		—		187,797		187,797
Other:
Real Estate/Other		—		549		549		—		489		489
Cash and Cash Equivalents		1,762		—		1,762		7,639		—		7,639
Total Non-U.S. Plan Assets	$	1,762	$	417,686	$	419,448	$	17,835	$	372,298	$	390,133
Total Plan Assets	$	1,762	$	417,686	$	624,431	$	17,835	$	372,298	$	590,134

Expected employer contributions to the defined benefit pension plans in fiscal year 2019 will be approximately $15.6 million, including $10.7 million of minimum amounts required for our non-U.S. plans. From time to time, we may elect to make voluntary contributions to our defined benefit plans to improve their funded status.

Benefit payments to retirees from all defined benefit plans are expected to be the following in the year indicated:

Fiscal Year	U.S.		Non-U.S.		Total
2019	$	15,435	$	8,489	$	23,924
2020		15,589		9,657		25,246
2021		14,322		10,535		24,857
2022		14,550		12,109		26,659
2023		14,947		12,619		27,566
2024-2028		75,428		75,332		150,760
Total	$	150,271	$	128,741	$	279,012

We provide contributory life insurance and health care benefits, subject to certain dollar limitations, for substantially all of our eligible retired U.S. employees. The retiree health benefit is no longer available for any employee who retires after December 31, 2017. This resulted in a curtailment gain of $2.5 million which was recognized in the Operating and Administrative Expenses line item in our Consolidated Statement of Income in fiscal year 2017. The cost of such benefits is expensed over the years the employee renders service and is not funded in advance. The accumulated post-retirement benefit obligation recognized on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position as of April 30, 2018 and 2017, was $1.8 million and $1.7 million, respectively. Annual (credits) expenses for these plans for fiscal years 2018, 2017, and 2016 were $(0.1) million, $(0.2) million and $0.2 million, respectively.

We have defined contribution savings plans. Our contribution is based on employee contributions and the level of our match. We may make discretionary contributions to all employees as a group. The expense recorded for these plans was approximately $14.4 million, $15.5 million, and $16.2 million in fiscal years 2018, 2017, and 2016 respectively.