Refer to the financial statements and related disclosure notes of Dell Inc. located in the company's financial statements and related disclosure notes in Appendix B located at the back of the text. The financial statements also can be found at the company's website: www.dell.com or via EDGAR at www.sec.gov.

Required:
1. What type of pension plan does Dell sponsor for its employees? Explain.
2. Who bears the “risk” of factors that might reduce retirement benefits in this type of plan? Explain.
3. Suppose a Dell employee contributes $10,000 to the pension plan during her first year of employment and directs investments to a municipal bond mutual fund. If she leaves Dell early in her second year, after the mutual fund's value has increased by 2%, how much will she be entitled to roll over into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)?
4. How did Dell account for its participation in the pension plan in fiscal 2009?