Several companies reported making contributions to their pension plans:
• Xerox Corp., Stamford, Conn., made a voluntary contribution of $230 million to its $3.7 billion U.S. pension plan this month, according to the company's 8-K report. The contribution was made "for the purpose of making those plan(s) 100% funded on a current liability basis under ERISA funding rules," the filing said. The company also contributed $24 million to the plan in the first quarter. Last year, the company contributed $450 million to the plan.
• AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines Inc., contributed $138 million to its pension plans in the first quarter, according to an 8-K filing. The company plans to contribute $310 million to the plans this year, according to a 10-K filing in late February. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines had $6.8 billion in pension assets as of Sept. 30.
• Continental Airlines Inc., Houston, plans to contribute $266 million to its $1.2 billion pension plan in 2005, according to its 8-K filing today. That is down from the $300 million contribution the airline estimated in January. The decrease is related to a recent decision to freeze the pilot's current pension plan, said Julie King, spokeswoman. Continental estimated its non-cash pension expense this year will total $235 million, including a first-quarter $43 million curtailment charge related to the pension freeze, the filing said.
