Note 10 - Pension and Postretirement Benefits |
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Notes to Financial Statements | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block] | Note 10: Pension and Postretirement BenefitsDefined Contribution Plan All U.S. employees have the option of contributing up to 75 percent of their pre-tax earnings to a 401(k) plan, subject to IRS limitations. We match up to the first 4 percent of each employee's pre-tax earnings, based on the employee’s contributions. All U.S. employees are eligible for a separate annual retirement contribution to the 401(k) plan of 3 percent of pay, that is invested based on the election of the individual participant. The 3 percent contribution is in addition to our 4 percent matching contribution described above and is in lieu of participation in our defined benefit pension plan. The total contribution to the 401(k) plan for 2016 was $10,417 which included the cost of the 4 percent company match of $4,897 and the additional 3 percent contribution of $5,520. The total contributions to the 401(k) plan were $9,375 and $9,414 in 2015 and 2014, respectively.The defined contribution plan liability recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets was $6,597 and $6,062 in 2016 and 2015, respectively for the U.S. Plan and several statutorily required non-U.S. Plans. Defined Benefit Plan s Noncontributory defined benefit pension plans cover all U.S. employees employed prior to January 1, 2007. Benefits for these plans are based primarily on each employee’s years of service and average compensation. During 2011, we made significant changes to our U.S. Pension Plan (the Plan). The changes included: benefits under the Plan were locked-in using service and salary as of May 31, 2011, participants no longer earn benefits for future service and salary as they had in the past, affected participants receive a three percent increase to the locked-in benefit for every year they continue to work for us and we are making a retirement contribution of three percent of eligible compensation to the 401(k) Plan for those participants. The funding policy is consistent with the funding requirements of federal law and regulations. Plan assets consist principally of listed equity securities and bonds. During 2015, we amended the plan to add a program for eligible employees to take a lump sum distribution. A total of $8,399 and $15,493 was paid during 2016 and 2015 as lump sum distributions under this program, respectively. Other U.S. postretirement benefits are funded through a Voluntary Employees' Beneficiaries Association Trust.Health care and life insurance benefits are provided for eligible retired employees and their eligible dependents. These benefits are provided through various insurance companies and health care providers. Costs are accrued during the years the employee renders the necessary service. Certain non-U.S. subsidiaries provide pension benefits for their employees consistent with local practices and regulations. These plans are primarily defined benefit plans covering substantially all employees upon completion of a specified period of service. Benefits for these plans are generally based on years of service and annual compensation. Following is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the benefit obligation and fair value of plan assets as of December 3, 2016 and November 28, 2015:
1 Actuarial loss in 2016 for the Non-U.S. Plans includes a $16,330 loss due to assumption changes net of a ($1,076) gain due to plan experience. Actuarial gain in 2015 for the U.S. Plans includes $11,455 due to assumption changes and $3,862 due to plan experience. 2 Amount excludes benefit payments made from sources other than plan assets.For the U.S. Pension Plan, we adopted the new RP- 2014 mortality tables projected generationally using scale MP-2016 .
The accumulated benefit obligation of the U.S. pension and other postretirement plans was $392,400 at December 3, 2016 and $407,011 at November 28, 2015. The accumulated benefit obligation of the non-U.S. pension plans was $201,151 at December 3, 2016 and $193,565 at November 28, 2015. The following amounts relate to pension plans with accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets as of December 3, 2016 and November 28, 2015:
The following amounts relate to pension plans with projected benefit obligations in excess of plan assets as of December 3, 2016 and November 28, 2015:
Information about the expected cash flows follows:
Components of net periodic benefit cost and other supplemental information for the years ended December 3, 2016, November 28, 2015 and November 29, 2014 follow:
1 Benefits under the U.S. Pension Plan were locked-in as of May 31, 2011 and no longer include compensation increases. The 4.50 2016, 2015 and 2014 are for the supplemental executive retirement plan only.The discount rate assumption is determined using an actuarial yield curve approach, which results in a discount rate that reflects the characteristics of the plan. The approach identifies a broad population of corporate bonds that meet the quality and size criteria for the particular plan. We use this approach rather than a specific index that has a certain set of bonds that may or may not be representative of the characteristics of our particular plan. A higher discount rate decreases the present value of the pension obligations. The discount rate for the U.S. pension plan was 4.10 percent at December 3, 2016, compared to 4.30 percent at November 28, 2015 and 4.10 percent at November 29, 2014. Net periodic pension cost for a given fiscal year is based on assumptions developed at the end of the previous fiscal year. A discount rate reduction of 0.5 percentage points at December 3, 2016 would increase pension and other postretirement plan expense approximately $213 (pre-tax) in fiscal 2017. Discount rates for non-U.S. plans are determined in a manner consistent with the U.S. plan.The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets assumption for the U.S. pension plan was 7.75 percent in 2016, 2015 and 2014. Our expected long-term rate of return on U.S. plan assets was based on our target asset allocation assumption of 60 percent equities and 40 percent fixed-income. Management, in conjunction with our external financial advisors, determines the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets by considering the expected future returns and volatility levels for each asset class that are based on historical returns and forward-looking observations. For 2016 the expected long-term rate of return on the target equities allocation was 8.75 percent and the expected long-term rate of return on the target fixed-income allocation was 5.0 percent. The total plan rate of return assumption included an estimate of the effect of diversification and the plan expense. A change of 0.5 percentage points for the expected return on assets assumption would impact U.S. net pension and other postretirement plan expense by approximately $1,991 (pre-tax). Management, in conjunction with our external financial advisors, uses the actual historical rates of return of the asset categories to assess the reasonableness of the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets assumption for non-U.S. pension plans was a weighted-average of 6.20 percent in 2016 compared to 6.22 percent in 2015 and 6.17 percent in 2014. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets assumption used in each non-U.S. plan is determined on a plan-by-plan basis for each local jurisdiction and is based on expected future returns for the investment mix of assets currently in the portfolio for that plan. Management, in conjunction with our external financial advisors, develops expected rates of return for each plan, considers expected long-term returns for each asset category in the plan, reviews expectations for inflation for each local jurisdiction, and estimates the effect of active management of the plan’s assets. Our largest non-U.S. pension plans are in the United Kingdom and Germany, respectively. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets for the United Kingdom was 6.75 percent and the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets for Germany was 5.75 percent. Management, in conjunction with our external financial advisors, uses actual historical returns of the asset portfolio to assess the reasonableness of the expected rate of return for each plan.
Sensitivity Information: A one -percentage point change in the health care cost trend rate would have the following effects on the December 3, 2016 service and interest cost and the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation at December 3, 2016:
The asset allocation for the company’s U.S. and non-U.S. pension plans at the end of 2016 and 2015 follows.
Plan Asset Management Plan assets are held in trust and invested in mutual funds, separately managed accounts and other commingled investment vehicles holding U.S. and non-U.S. equity securities, fixed income securities and other investment classes. We employ a total return approach whereby a mix of equities and fixed income investments are used to maximize the long-term return of plan assets for a prudent level of risk. Futures and options may also be used to enhance risk-adjusted long-term returns while improving portfolio diversification and duration. Risk management is accomplished through diversification across asset classes, utilization of multiple investment managers and general plan-specific investment policies. Risk tolerance is established through careful consideration of the plan liabilities, plan funded status and our assessment of our overall liquidity position. This asset allocation policy mix is reviewed annually and actual versus target allocations are monitored regularly and rebalanced on an as-needed basis. Plan assets are invested using a combination of active and passive investment strategies. Passive, or “indexed” strategies, attempt to mimic rather than exceed the investment performance of a market benchmark. The plans’ active investment strategies employ multiple investment management firms which in aggregate cover a range of investment styles and approaches. Performance is monitored and compared to relevant benchmarks on a regular basis.The U.S. pension plans consist of two plans: a pension plan and a supplemental executive retirement plan (“SERP”). There were no assets in the SERP in 2016 and 2015. Consequently, all of the data disclosed in the asset allocation table for the U.S. pension plans pertain to our U.S. pension plan.During 2016 we maintained our assets within the allowed ranges of the target asset allocation mix of 60 percent equities and 40 percent fixed income plus or minus 5 percent and continued our focus to reduce volatility of plan assets in future periods and to more closely match the duration of the assets with the duration of the liabilities of the plan. We plan to maintain the portfolio at this target allocation in 2017. The non-U.S. pension plans consist of all the pension plans administered by us outside the U.S., principally consisting of plans in Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Canada. During 2016 we maintained our assets for the non-U.S. pension plans at the specific target asset allocation mix determined for each plan plus or minus the allowed rate and continued our focus to reduce volatility of plan assets in future periods and to more closely match the duration of the assets with the duration of the liabilities of the individual plans. We plan to maintain the portfolios at their respective target asset allocations in 2017. Other postretirement benefits plans consist of two U.S. plans: a retiree medical health care plan and a group term life insurance plan. There were no assets in the group term life insurance plan for 2016 and 2015. Consequently, all of the data disclosed in the asset allocation table for other postretirement plans pertain to our retiree medical health care plan. Our investment strategy for other postretirement benefit plans is to own insurance policies that maintain an asset allocation nearly completely in equities. These equities are invested in a passive portfolio indexed to the S&P 500. Our large weighting to equities in these plans is driven by the investment options available and the relative underfunded status of the plans. Fair Value of Plan Assets The following table presents plan assets categorized within a three -level fair value hierarchy as described in Note 13.
1 820 -10, Fair Value Measurement, certain investments that are measured at NAV (Net Asset Value per share) (or its equivalent) practical expedient have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amounts represented in this table are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the statement of financial position.The definitions of fair values of our pension and other postretirement benefit plan assets at December 3, 2016 and November 28, 2015 by asset category are as follows:Equities Fixed income Insurance Cash – Cash balances on hand, accrued income and pending settlements of transactions for purposes of handling plan payments. Fair values are the cash balances as reported by the Trustees of the plans. The following is a roll forward of the Level 3 investments of our pension and postretirement benefit plan assets during the year ended December 3, 2016 and November 28, 2015:
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