Several pension plan sponsors made recent SEC filings indicating...
Several pension plan sponsors made recent SEC filings indicating pension plan contributions:
• Verizon Communications Corp., New York, contributed $698 million to its qualified pension plans during the first quarter, according to its quarterly 10-Q filed today with the SEC. Verizon expects to contribute a total of $730 million this year. The company had $39.1 billion in pension assets as of Dec. 31.
• Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, Ill., contributed about $50 million to its non-U.S. pension plans in the first quarter, according to the company's first-quarter report filed with the SEC. Company officials expect to contribute an additional $90 million to the non-U.S. plans in 2005. Caterpillar plans to make $30 million in voluntary contributions to the U.S. plans this year. The company had about $8.7 billion in U.S. pension assets as of Nov. 30 and $1.5 billion in non-U.S. pension assets as of Sept. 30. At those date, the U.S. plans were underfunded by $868 million, and the non-U.S. plans were underfunded by $594 million.
• Energy East Corp., Portland, Maine, contributed $54 million to its $2.48 billion pension plans in the quarter ended March 31, according to the company's 10-Q filing. The company does not plan to make additional contributions this year.
• State Street Corp., Boston, plans to contribute $53 million to its U.S. pension plans in 2005, according to the firm's first-quarter report. Officials had anticipated contributing $29 million but decided it was "more tax advantageous to contribute to the higher end of the spectrum," said spokesman Brian M. Willinsky. State Street's worldwide pension plans had a combined $592 million in assets as of Dec. 31 and were underfunded by $58 million. Mr. Willinsky said the firm does not provide a breakdown of assets in the U.S. and non-U.S. plans.
• Wyeth, Madison, N.J., contributed $9.9 million to its $3.9 billion defined benefit plans in the first three months of the year, according to the company's quarterly 10-Q filing. The company plans to contribute a total of $200 million to the plans this year, up $20 million from the amount it estimated at the end of last year. The firm contributed $273 million last year.
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