Several corporations announced recent contributions to their pension funds.
• International Business Machines Corp., White Plains, N.Y., expects to contribute between $430 million and $583 million to its non-U.S. pension plans before the end of the year, according to its third-quarter report filed Oct. 25. The company, which had about $41 billion in defined benefit assets, is required to make a minimum contribution of $389 million, according to the filing. IBM already contributed $430 million to its non-U.S. defined contribution plans in the first nine months of 2005. Additionally, IBM contributed $1.7 billion to its U.S. defined benefit plan in January.
• Continental Airlines Inc., Houston, contributed $65 million in cash in October to its pension plans, which have $1.3 billion in assets. The company has contributed $304 million to the plans through Oct. 18 and met its pension contribution requirements for this year, according to the company's quarterly 10-Q report filed with the SEC. It also contributed $130 million in shares of ExpressJet Airlines to the plans this year.
• American Airlines Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, contributed $22 million to its $6.9 billion pension plans on Oct. 14, bringing its total contributions this year to $310 million, according to a news release. The company does not plan to make additional contributions this year.
• United Technologies Corp., Hartford, Conn., made $200 million in voluntary contributions to its $12 billion pension plan in the third quarter, according to the company's 8-K filing.