Carpenter Company adopted a defined benefit pension plan for its employees on January 1, 2019. At the
Question:
Carpenter Company adopted a defined benefit pension plan for its employees on January 1, 2019. At the time of adoption, the pension contract provided for retroactive benefits for the company’s active participating employees. These retroactive benefits resulted in a prior service cost of $1,860,000 that created a projected benefit obligation of the same amount on that date. Carpenter decided to amortize the prior service cost by the straight-line method over the 20-year average remaining service life of the employees. The following additional information is also available for 2019 and 2020: (1) discount rate for both 2019 and 2020: 8%; (2) company contribution (funded 12/31): 2019, $550,000; 2020, $530,000; (3) expected long-term rate of return on plan assets: 9%; (4) actual rate of return on plan assets, 10%; (5) service cost: 2019, $257,000; 2020, $264,000; and (6) plan assets: 1/1/2019, $0. Carpenter paid pension benefits of $30,000 each year. Carpenter uses the corridor approach to amortize gains or losses. There are no other components of Carpenter’s pension expense. Ignore any adjustment of accumulated other comprehensive income.
Required:
Prepare a pension plan worksheet that includes the calculation of Carpenter’s pension expense for 2019 and 2020, the reconciliation of the beginning and ending projected benefit obligation for 2019 and 2020, the reconciliation of the beginning and ending plan assets for 2019 and 2020, and the journal entry to record the pension expense at the end of 2019 and 2020, indicating whether each component is a debit or credit.
Depending upon the context, the discount rate has two different definitions and usages. First, the discount rate refers to the interest rate charged to the commercial banks and other financial institutions for the loans they take from the Federal...
Step by Step Answer:
Intermediate Accounting Reporting and Analysis
ISBN: 978-1337788281
3rd edition
Authors: James M. Wahlen, Jefferson P. Jones, Donald Pagach