Alcatel-Lucent, Murray Hill, N.J., plans to make a voluntary lump-sum offer in 2015 to about 45,000 U.S. retirees and former employees vested in its U.S. defined benefit pension funds, according to a 6-K filing with the SEC.
The company does not expect to make any extra contributions to its U.S. pension funds as part of the effort. Kurt Steinert, company spokesman, said a specific timetable for an offer has yet to be determined and the company has no specific target for the number of retirees and former employees it hopes will take the offer.
As of Dec. 31, the U.S. pension funds had $30.1 billion in assets and $26.2 billion in projected benefit obligations, for a funding ratio of 115%, according to the company's most recent 20-F filing.
