Thirteen of the nation’s largest corporations announced pension contributions about equal to all of the contributions made by S&P 500 companies in 2001, a new report says. The report is by Dave Zion and Bill Carcache, accounting analysts at Credit Suisse First Boston.
The report estimates the announced contributions will total $14.6 billion, slightly less than the $15 billion contributed by all of the plan sponsors into the S&P 500 index two years ago. The 13 companies cited include General Motors Corp., which has announced plans to contribute $4.8 billion; IBM Corp., $3.95 billion; and United Technologies, $1.5 billion. "If the pension plan is underfunded, then it has a claim on … future cash flows, potentially reducing the company’s valuation from a shareholder’s perspective,” the report noted.
