Carsay provides the following information related to its pension plan for the year 2019. Plan assets, January 1, 2019, are 100,000. Defined benefit obligation, January 1, 2019, is 100,000. Annual service cost is 9,000. Discount rate is 10 percent. Funding contributions are 8,000. Benefits paid to retirees during the year are 7,000. Pfizer SA makes the "formal journal entry" on December 31, which records the pension expense in 2019 as follows.*

A. a debit to pension expense of 9,000

b. a debit to pension expense of 7,000

c. a debit to pension expense of 8,000

d. a debit to pension expense of 9,500