BP PLC, London, expects to contribute $5.785 billion to its worldwide pension and postretirement benefit plans over the next five years, including $1.357 billion this year, according to a report included with its quarterly earnings release today.
BP contributed $267 million in the first six months of this year to its pension plans outside the United States, said Rachael MacLean, spokeswoman. The company expects to contribute another $493 million to its pension plans worldwide later this year, including about $275 million to its $7.3 billion U.S. pension fund, according to an earlier BP statement.
In 2005, it contributed $1.308 billion to pension and postretirement plans — $309 million to U.S. pension plans, $204 million to U.S. postretirement plans, $341 million to U.K. pension plans, and $454 million to other unspecified plans, according to the report. BP's U.K. plan has $23.2 billion in assets.
