Chrysler 2007 Annual Report Download - page 170

169Fiat Group Consolidated Financial Statements at December 31, 2007 - Notes
Following the introduction in France in 2007 of changes in the law regarding collective wage bargaining agreements, certain
amendments have been made to the
Indemnité de départ à la retraite due to employees. These changes are reflected as past
service cost in the variations of the present value of the obligation and will be recognised in income as they accrue over a period
of approximately 15 years.
In 2006, Plan amendments recognised in the income statement and in changes in the present value of the obligations mainly
related to 1) the effect of the modifications made to the CNH U.S. Pension Plan during the year, following a reduction in the
number of members of the plan and the granting of various benefits to employees and 2) the amendments to health care plans and
included an effect of 25 million euros in 2006 arising from modifications to the
“CNH Health & Welfare Plan” and the “CNH
Employee Group Insurance Plan”
The item (Gains) Losses on settlements (-72 million euros) related in addition to the settlement of
a funded defined benefit pension plan in the Trucks and Commercial Vehicles Sector as a consequence of the disposal to an
insurance company of a pension plan of a subsidiary being liquidated.
Changes in the fair value of plan assets are as follows:
Pension Plans Health care plans
(in millions of euros) 2007 2006 2007 2006
Fair value of plan assets at the beginning of the year 2,176 2,115 ––
Expected return on plan assets 155 152 1–
Actuarial gains (losses) generated (44) 46 (1) –
Exchange rate differences (181) (74) (4) –
Contribution by employer 75 147 106 –
Contribution by plan participants 763–
Benefits paid (152) (145) (58) –
(Gains) losses on settlements (1) (72) – –
Other changes 11––
Fair value of plan assets at the end of the year 2,036 2,176 47 –
As discussed earlier, the Group, and in particular the companies of the CNH – Case New Holland Sector, began making
contributions on a voluntary basis in 2007 to a separate and independently managed fund established to finance the North
American health care plans.
Plan assets for Post-employment benefits and Health-care benefits mainly consist of listed equity instruments and fixed income
securities; plan assets do not include treasury stock of Fiat S.p.A. or properties occupied by Group companies.
Plan assets may be summarised as follows:
in % At December 31, 2007 At December 31, 2006
Third party equity instruments 58 56
Third party debt instruments 39 39
Properties occupied by third parties 11
Other assets 24