E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Del., is offering about 9,500 former employees in its U.S. defined benefit plan a window to select a lump-sum payment or begin receiving early annuity payments, said Dan Turner, company spokesman, in an emailed statement.
The window opens on Sept. 11 and ends on Oct. 20, and payments will be provided starting in late November and early December, Mr. Turner said. The offer is being made to certain former employees who are vested in the plan but who have yet to retire.
DuPont's U.S. defined benefit plan will be frozen effective Nov. 30, 2018. The plan was closed to new employees in January 2007. Earlier this year, DuPont said it plans to contribute $2.9 billion to its U.S. defined benefit plan in 2017, partially funded by new bonds totaling $2 billion.
As of Dec. 31, the company's global pension plan assets totaled $16.6 billion, while projected benefit obligations totaled $24.3 billion, for a funding ratio of 68.3%, according to the company's most recent 10-K filing. The filing did not break out U.S. and non-U.S. assets. The U.S. plan had $14.2 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, 2016, according to Pensions & Investments data.
