TJX Cos. pays out $103 million from lump-sum offer to former employees

TJX Cos. Inc., Framingham, Mass., paid out $103.2 million in lump-sum payments to former employees who accepted an offer provided by the company earlier this year, the company announced in an 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Nov. 15 announcement followed a previous 8-K filed on Aug. 16 that said the company had begun notifying former employees in its U.S. pension plan Aug. 8 of the offer “in an effort to reduce its future pension obligations and associated administrative costs.” The offer was made to those former employees vested in the plan but who had yet to retire.

Payments were made on Oct. 21. The company did not provide the number of former employees offered the lump sum, nor the number that accepted it. The pension plan has been closed to new hires since Feb. 1, 2006.

The company's latest 10-Q filing reflects the new projected benefit obligations minus the lump sum payments, reporting plan assets totaling $1.154 billion and liabilities of $1.387 billion as of Sept. 30, for a funding ratio of 83%.

Lisa Arminio, company spokeswoman, could not be immediately reached to provide further information.