The Company has several defined benefit pension plans covering many of its employees in the U.S. and certain employees in other countries. The plans provide retirement benefits based on various factors including years of service and in certain circumstances, earnings. Most plans are now frozen to new entrants and for additional service.

During fiscal year 2019, the Company completed the termination procedures with the Trustees of its Ireland pension plan. The Company has no remaining obligations or risks related to this pension plan. This resulted in a plan settlement to the projected benefit obligation of $8.6 and plan assets of $11.4 and a settlement loss of $3.7 recorded to Other items, net on the Consolidated Statement of Earnings and Comprehensive Income.

During fiscal year 2018, the Company received approval from the Financial Services Commission of Ontario to terminate its Canadian pension plan. The Company purchased annuity contracts for its participants and transferred the liability to an insurance provider. This resulted in a plan settlement to the projected benefit obligation and plan assets of $36.9 and a settlement loss of $14.1 recorded to Other items, net on the Consolidated Statement of Earnings and Comprehensive Income.

The Company also sponsors or participates in a number of other non-U.S. pension arrangements, including various retirement and termination benefit plans, some of which are required by local law or coordinated with government-sponsored plans, which are not significant in the aggregate and, therefore, are not included in the information presented in the following tables.

The following tables present the benefit obligation, plan assets and funded status of the plans:



	September 30,
	U.S.						International
	2019			2018			2019			2018
Change in Projected Benefit Obligation
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	494.5		$	525.9		$	142.6		$	203.5
Service cost	—			—			0.5			0.6
Interest cost	20.4			18.7			2.9			3.9
Actuarial loss/(gain)	52.2			(12.9		)	22.2			(13.8		)
Benefits paid	(35.8		)	(36.8		)	(5.3		)	(6.4		)
Plan settlements	—			(0.4		)	(10.7		)	(41.1		)
Foreign currency exchange rate changes	—			—			(6.4		)	(4.1		)
Projected Benefit Obligation at end of year	$	531.3		$	494.5		$	145.8		$	142.6
Change in Plan Assets
Estimated fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	456.0		$	477.2		$	131.6		$	173.8
Actual return on plan assets	40.8			13.2			12.6			1.6
Company contributions	2.5			2.8			3.3			7.8
Plan settlements	—			(0.4		)	(13.5		)	(41.1		)
Benefits paid	(35.8		)	(36.8		)	(5.3		)	(6.4		)
Foreign currency exchange rate changes	—			—			(5.9		)	(4.1		)
Estimated fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	463.5		$	456.0		$	122.8		$	131.6
Funded status at end of year	$	(67.8	)	$	(38.5	)	$	(23.0	)	$	(11.0	)

The following table presents the amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity:



	September 30,
	U.S.						International
Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets	2019			2018			2019			2018
Noncurrent assets	$	—		$	—		$	12.1		$	17.1
Current liabilities	(2.4		)	(2.5		)	(0.6		)	(0.6		)
Noncurrent liabilities	(65.4		)	(36.0		)	(34.5		)	(27.5		)
Net amount recognized	$	(67.8	)	$	(38.5	)	$	(23.0	)	$	(11.0	)
Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
Net loss, pre tax	$	(182.7	)	$	(149.2	)	$	(40.9	)	$	(29.9	)

Pre-tax changes recognized in other comprehensive loss for the year ended September 30, 2019 are as follows:



Changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive (loss)/income	U.S.			International
Net loss arising during the year	$	(37.5	)	$	(14.5	)
Effect of exchange rates	—			1.3
Amounts recognized as a component of net periodic benefit cost
Amortization or settlement recognition of net gain	4.0			2.2
Total loss recognized in other comprehensive loss	$	(33.5	)	$	(11.0	)

The accumulated benefit obligation for the US plans was $531.3 and $494.5 and for the foreign plans was $143.7 and $141.2 at September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The following table shows the plans with an accumulated benefit obligation in excess of plan assets at the dates indicated.



	September 30,
	U.S.				International
	2019		2018		2019		2018
Projected benefit obligation	$	531.3	$	494.5	$	73.5	$	66.3
Accumulated benefit obligation	531.3		494.5		71.4		64.9
Estimated fair value of plan assets	463.5		456.0		38.5		38.2

Pension plan assets in the U.S. plan represent approximately 79% of assets in all of the Company's defined benefit pension plans. Investment policy for the U.S. plan includes a mandate to diversify assets and invest in a variety of assets classes to achieve that goal. The U.S. plan's assets are currently invested in several funds representing most standard equity and debt security classes. The broad target allocations are approximately: (a) equities, including U.S. and foreign: 40%, and (b) debt

securities, including U.S. bonds: 60%. Actual allocations at September 30, 2019 approximated these targets. The U.S. plan held no shares of Company common stock at September 30, 2019. Investment objectives are similar for non-U.S. pension arrangements, subject to local requirements.



	For the Years Ended September 30,
	U.S.									International
	2019			2018			2017			2019			2018			2017
Service cost	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	0.5		$	0.6		$	1.4
Interest cost	20.4			18.7			18.3			2.9			3.9			3.4
Expected return on plan assets	(26.2		)	(30.1		)	(34.3		)	(4.9		)	(6.3		)	(8.0		)
Recognized net actuarial loss	4.1			4.4			4.8			0.9			2.0			3.4
Settlement loss on Canadian pension plan termination	—			—			—			—			14.1			—
Settlement loss on Ireland pension plan termination	—			—			—			3.7			—			—
Settlement loss recognized on other pension plans	—			0.1			0.5			0.4			1.0			0.2
Net periodic (benefit)/expense	$	(1.7	)	$	(6.9	)	$	(10.7	)	$	3.5		$	15.3		$	0.4

The service cost component of the net periodic (benefit)/expense above is recorded in Selling, general and administrative expense (SG&A) on the Consolidated Statement of Earnings and Comprehensive Income, while the remaining components are recorded to Other items, net.

Amounts expected to be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net period benefit cost during the year ending September 30, 2020 are net actuarial losses of $6.5 for the U.S. Plan and $1.4 for the International plans.

The following table presents assumptions, which reflect weighted averages for the component plans, used in determining the above information:



	September 30,
	U.S.						International
	2019		2018		2017		2019		2018		2017
Plan obligations:
Discount rate	3.1	%	4.3	%	3.7	%	1.6	%	2.1	%	2.1	%
Compensation increase rate	—		—		—		2.1	%	2.1	%	2.4	%
Net periodic benefit cost:
Discount rate	4.3	%	3.7	%	3.4	%	2.1	%	2.1	%	1.7	%
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets	5.9	%	6.6	%	7.5	%	3.8	%	3.8	%	5.1	%
Compensation increase rate	—		—		—		2.1	%	2.4	%	3.2	%

The following tables set forth the estimated fair value of Energizer’s plan assets as of September 30, 2019 and 2018 segregated by level within the estimated fair value hierarchy. Refer to Note 16, Financial Instruments and Risk Management, for further discussion on the estimated fair value hierarchy and estimated fair value principles.



ASSETS AT ESTIMATED FAIR VALUE	At September 30, 2019
	U.S. Pension Plan Assets						International Pension Plan Assets
	Level 1		Level 2		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Total
EQUITY
U.S. Equity	$	66.0	$	—	$	66.0	$	—	$	—	$	—
International Equity	3.1		—		3.1		—		8.7		8.7
DEBT
U.S. Government	—		276.2		276.2		—		—		—
Other Government	—		1.8		1.8		—		9.0		9.0
Corporate	—		—		—		—		30.2		30.2
CASH & CASH EQUIVALENTS	—		—		—		—		2.5		2.5
OTHER	—		6.8		6.8		—		5.8		5.8
Assets Measured at Net Asset Value
U.S. Equity					64.6						—
International Equity					45.0						28.9
Corporate					—						37.7
TOTAL	$	69.1	$	284.8	$	463.5	$	—	$	56.2	$	122.8



	At September 30, 2018
	U.S. Pension Plan Assets						International Pension Plan Assets
	Level 1		Level 2		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Total
EQUITY
U.S. Equity	$	67.7	$	—	$	67.7	$	—	$	1.6	$	1.6
International Equity	3.1		—		3.1		—		5.9		5.9
DEBT
U.S. Government	—		270.3		270.3		—		—		—
Other Government	—		—		—		—		7.5		7.5
Corporate	—		—		—		—		13.6		13.6
CASH & CASH EQUIVALENTS	—		—		—		—		6.0		6.0
OTHER	—		2.9		2.9		—		5.9		5.9
Assets measured at Net Asset Value
U.S. Equity					65.5						—
International Equity					46.5						41.8
Other Government					—						39.4
Corporate					—						9.9
TOTAL	$	70.8	$	273.2	$	456.0	$	—	$	40.5	$	131.6

The investment objective for plan assets is to satisfy the current and future pension benefit obligations. The investment philosophy is to achieve this objective through diversification of the retirement plan assets. The goal is to earn a suitable return with an appropriate level of risk while maintaining adequate liquidity to distribute benefit payments. The diversified asset allocation includes equity positions, as well as fixed income investments. The increased volatility associated with equities is

offset with higher expected returns, while the long duration fixed income investments help dampen the volatility of the overall portfolio. Risk exposure is controlled by re-balancing the retirement plan assets back to target allocations, as needed. Investment firms managing retirement plan assets carry out investment policy within their stated guidelines. Investment performance is monitored against benchmark indices, which reflect the policy and target allocation of the retirement plan assets.

The Company sponsors defined contribution plans globally, which extends participation eligibility to the vast majority of employees. In the U.S., the Company matches 100% of participant’s before tax or Roth contributions up to 6% of eligible compensation. Amounts charged to expense for the U.S. plan during fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017 were $7.8, $5.7, and $5.5, respectively, and are reflected in SG&A and Cost of products sold in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings and Comprehensive Income. With the Battery and Auto Care Acquisitions on January 2, 2019 and January 28, 2019, respectively, the Company added approximately 900 colleagues to the Plan which drove the increase in the contributions in fiscal 2019. Contributions to the remaining global plans are not significant in the aggregate.