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Chapter 20: Question 21Q (page 1161)

Describe the accounting for actuarial gains and losses.

Short Answer

Expert verified

A pension plan administratorrefers to thegroup of people or a section of a departmentin an organization responsible forhandling each employee's pension plans.

Step by step solution

01

Introduction:

Actuarial gains and losses arise due to the difference in the amounts of actual and expected payments prescribed by the organization's actuary under the pension worksheet.

02

Accounting for actuarial gains and losses:

When an organization faces an actuarial gain or loss, that must be balanced with the amount of estimated pension payment to indicate a more precise and accurate value of the total pension benefit obligations. The amount of adjustments made should be reputed in an organization's financial statements at the end of each accounting period.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

On January 1, 2017, Harrington Company has the following defined benefit pension plan balances. Projected benefi t obligation \(4,500,000 Fair value of plan assets 4,200,000 The interest (settlement) rate applicable to the plan is 10%. On January 1, 2018, the company amends its pension agreement so that prior service costs of \)500,000 are created. Other data related to the pension plan are as follows. Insert Page Layout Formulas Data Review View A P18 fx BCD E F G Postretirement Benefit Worksheetโ€”Holder Inc.xls Home 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Postretirement Asset/Liability Other Comprehensive Incomeโ€”PSC APBO Memo Record Items Plan Assets General Journal Entries Annual Expense Cash (1) (2) (3) 3,000 (6) 410,000 56,000 36,900 5,000 497,900 Cr. 120,000 2,000 (4) 5,000 183,000 Dr. Balance, Jan. 1, 2017 Service cost Interest cost Actual/Expected return Contributions Benefits Amortization of PSC Journal entry for 2017 Accumulated OCI, Dec. 31, 2016 Balance, Dec. 31, 2017 66,000 (7) (5) (8) 30,000 Dr. 27,000 Dr. 290,000 (9) 314,900 Cr. 2017 2018 Service cost \(150,000 \)180,000 Prior service cost amortization โ€“0โ€“ 90,000 Contributions (funding) to the plan 240,000 285,000 Benefi ts paid 200,000 280,000 Actual return on plan assets 252,000 260,000 Expected rate of return on assets 6% 8% Instructions (a) Prepare a pension worksheet for the pension plan for 2017 and 2018. (b) For 2018, prepare the journal entry to record pension-related amounts.

Davis Corporation is a medium-sized manufacturer of paperboard containers and boxes. The corporation sponsors a noncontributory, defined benefit pension plan that covers its 250 employees. Sid Cole has recently been hired as president of Davis Corporation. While reviewing last yearโ€™s financial statements with Carol Dilbeck, controller, Cole expressed confusion about several of the items in the footnote to the financial statements relating to the pension plan. In part, the footnote reads as follows. Note J. The company has a defi nedbenefi t pension plan covering substantially all of its employees. The benefits are based on years of service and the employeeโ€™s compensation during the last four years of employment. The companyโ€™s funding policy is to contribute annually the maximum amount allowed under the federal tax code. Contributions are intended to provide for benefits expected to be earned in the future as well as those earned to date. The net periodic pension expense on Davis Corporationโ€™s comparative income statement was \(72,000 in 2017 and \)57,680 in 2016. The following are selected figures from the planโ€™s funded status and amounts recognized in the Davis Corporationโ€™s Statement of Financial Position at December 31, 2017 (\(000 omitted). Actuarial present value of benefi t obligations: Accumulated benefi t obligation (including vested benefits of \)636) \( (870) Projected benefi t obligation \)(1,200) Plan assets at fair value 1,050 Projected benefi t obligation in excess of plan assets $ (150) Given that Davis Corporationโ€™s work force has been stable for the last 6 years, Cole could not understand the increase in the net periodic pension expense. Dilbeck explained that the net periodic pension expense consists of several elements, some of which may increase or decrease the net expense. Instructions (a) The determination of the net periodic pension expense is a function of five elements. List and briefly describe each of the elements. (b) Describe the major difference and the major similarity between the accumulated benefit obligation and the projected benefit obligation. (c) (1) Explain why pension gains and losses are not recognized on the income statement in the period in which they arise. (2) Briefly describe how pension gains and losses are recognized.

In examining the costs of pension plans, Helen Kaufman, CPA, encounters certain terms. The components of pension costs that the terms represent must be dealt with appropriately if generally accepted accounting principles are to be reflected in the financial statements of entities with pension plans. Instructions (a) (1) Discuss the theoretical justification for accrual recognition of pension costs. (2) Discuss the relative objectivity of the measurement process of accrual versus cash (pay-as-you-go) accounting for annual pension costs. (b) Explain the following terms as they apply to accounting for pension plans. (1) Market-related asset value. (2) Projected benefit obligation. (3) Corridor approach. (c) What information should be disclosed about a companyโ€™s pension plans in its financial statements and its notes?

Given the following items and amounts, compute the actual return on plan assets: fair value of plan assets at the beginning of the period \(9,500,000; benefits paid during the period \)1,400,000; contributions made during the period \(1,000,000; and fair value of the plan assets at the end of the period \)10,150,000.

Taveras Enterprises provides the following information relative to its defined benefit pension plan. Balances or Values at December 31, 2017 Projected benefit obligation \(2,737,000 Accumulated benefit obligation 1,980,000 Fair value of plan assets 2,278,329 Accumulated OCI (PSC) 210,000 Accumulated OCIโ€”Net loss (1/1/17 balance, โ€“0โ€“) 45,680 Pension liability 458,671 Other pension plan data for 2017: Service cost 94,000 Prior service cost amortization 42,000 Actual return on plan assets 130,000 Expected return on plan assets 175,680 Interest on January 1, 2017, projected benefi t obligation 253,000 Contributions to plan 93,329 Benefi ts paid 140,000

Instructions (a) Prepare the note disclosing the components of pension expense for the year 2017. (b) Determine the amounts of other comprehensive income and comprehensive income for 2017. Net income for 2017 is \)35,000. (c) Compute the amount of accumulated other comprehensive income reported at December 31, 2017.

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