Kessler, Inc. received the following information from its pension plan trustee concerning the operation of the company's defined-benefit pension plan for the year ended December 31, 2018:

January 1, 2018 December 31, 2018

Projected benefit obligation $2,500,000 $2,850,000

Fair value of plan assets 1,250,000 1,600,000

Accumulated benefit obligation 1,930,000 2,620,000

Accumulated OCI (PSC) 540,000 300,000

The service cost component for 2018 is $180,000 and the amortization of prior service cost is $240,000. The company's actual funding of the plan in 2018 amounted to $525,000. The expected return on plan assets and the settlement rate were both 8%.

Instructions

(a) Determine the pension expense to be reported in 2018.

(b) Prepare the journal entry to record pension expense and the employers' contribution to the pension plan in 2018.