As the accountant for Newark, you determine the following with respect to the citys pensions a particular year.

Service cost $356,000 Interest on total pension liability 400,000 Actual earnings on pension plan investments 500,000 Projected earnings on pension plan investments 450,000 Employer contribution to the plan 180,000 Benefits paid to retirees 211,000

Required: 1. Based on the information provided, what should Newark report as its pension expense for the year? 2. Suppose that the benefits paid to retirees was actually $251,000 rather than $211,000. How would that affect the pension expense? Explain. 3. Suppose also that Newark failed to contribute anything to the pension plan. a. How would that affect the pension expense to be reported on the government- wide statements? Explain. b. How would it affect the pension expenditure to be reported on the statements of the general fund?