Several pension plan sponsors made recent SEC filings indicating actions taken with their pension plans:
• Electronic Data Systems Corp., Plano, Texas, plans to contribute $150 million to $250 million to its pension plans in 2005, according to a 10-Q filing. The company contributed $25 million in the quarter ended March 31. EDS has $3 billion in pension assets, according to the Money Market Directory.
• E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. Inc., Wilmington, Del., contributed $79 million to its pension plans through March 31, according to a 10-Q filing. The company plans to contribute an additional $177 million by Dec. 31, bringing its total to $256 million, up from the $245 million it had estimated in its annual report. It had $18.25 billion in pension assets as of Dec. 31.
• Kimberly-Clark Corp., Dallas, contributed $11 million to its pension plan in the first quarter, according to a 10-Q filing. The company contributed $62 million in the first quarter of 2004. Kimberly-Clark will also contribute $68 million to its non-U.S. pension plans this year. The company reported total retirement assets of $5.08 billion as of Sept. 30. According to a February 10-K filing, the company is not required to make any contributions to its U.S. plan this year.
• Sempra Energy, San Diego, contributed $4.8 million to its $2.5 billion pension plan in April, said spokeswoman Jennifer Andrews. The firm also made a $2 million contribution for the quarter ended March 31, according to a 10-Q filing. Ms. Andrews said the contributions were made in accordance with funding requirements under the law.
• International Paper Co., Stamford, Conn., lowered its expected return on pension plan assets to 8.5% from 8.75%, and it lowered the discount rate it uses for measuring liabilities to 5.75% from 6%, according to the company's 10-Q filing. The company does not plan to make any contributions to its $6.6 billion U.S. pension plan before 2007.