Equifax 2007 Annual Report Download - page 76

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
74 EQUIFAX | 2007 ANNUAL REPORT
9.
BENEFIT PLANS
We have defi ned benefi t pension plans and defi ned contribution
plans. Substantially all U.S., Canadian and U.K. employees
participate in one or more of these plans. We also maintain certain
healthcare and life insurance benefi t plans for eligible retired
employees. The measurement date for our defi ned benefi t pension
plans and other postretirement benefi t plans is December 31st of
each year.
Pension Benefi ts. Pension benefi ts are provided through U.S. and
Canadian defi ned benefi t pension plans and two supplemental
executive defi ned benefi t pension plans.
U.S. and Canadian Retirement Plans. We have one non-contributory
qualifi ed retirement plan covering most U.S. salaried employees
(the Equifax Inc. Pension Plan, or EIPP) and a defi ned benefi t plan
for most salaried and hourly employees in Canada (the Canadian
Retirement Income Plan, or CRIP). We also have a qualifi ed retire-
ment plan that covers U.S. salaried employees (the U.S. Retirement
Income Plan, or USRIP) who terminated or retired before January 1,
2005. Benefi ts from these plans are primarily a function of salary
and years of service.
In 2007 and 2006, we made discretionary contributions to the
EIPP of $12.0 million and $20.0 million, respectively, and in 2006
funded $2.0 million for our other postretirement benefi t plans. At
December 31, 2007, the USRIP and the EIPP met or exceeded
ERISA’s minimum funding requirements. We do not expect to have
to make any minimum funding contributions under ERISA for
2008 with respect to the USRIP or the EIPP, based on applicable
law as currently in effect.
The annual report produced by our consulting actuaries specifi es
the funding requirements for our plans, based on projected benefi ts
for plan participants, historical investment results on plan assets,
current discount rates for liabilities, assumptions for future demo-
graphic developments, investment performance and recent changes
in statutory requirements. We may elect to make additional
discretionary contributions to our plans in excess of minimum
funding requirements, subject to statutory limitations.
Supplemental Retirement Plans. We maintain two supplemental
executive retirement programs for certain key employees. The plans,
which are unfunded, provide supplemental retirement payments,
based on salary and years of service.
Other Benefi ts. We maintain certain healthcare and life insurance
benefi t plans for eligible retired employees. Substantially all of
our U.S. employees may become eligible for the healthcare benefi ts
if they reach retirement age while working for us and satisfy certain
years of service requirements. The retiree life insurance program
covers employees who retired on or before December 31, 2003.
We accrue the cost of providing healthcare benefi ts over the active
service period of the employee.
Obligations and Funded Status.
A reconciliation of the benefi t obligations, plan assets and funded status of the plans is as follows:
Pension Benefits Other Benefits
(In millions) 2007 2006 2007 2006
Change in benefit obligation
Benefit obligation at January 1, $582.7 $579.7 $ 30.7 $ 30.2
Service cost 10.8 10.0 0.4 0.4
Interest cost 33.2 32.1 1.7 1.6
Plan participants’ contributions – – 1.1 0.9
Amendments 0.2 2.3 – –
Actuarial (gain) loss (14.0) (4.3) 3.4 1.9
Foreign currency exchange rate changes 7.7 0.1 – –
Retiree drug subsidy paid – – 0.4 0.1
Special termination beneifts – 0.5 – –
Benefits paid (39.0) (37.7) (4.8) (4.4)
Benefit obligation at December 31, 581.6 582.7 32.9 30.7
Change in plan assets
Fair value of plan assets at January 1, 579.2 529.4 17.3 13.8
Actual return on plan assets 41.6 64.0 1.7 1.5
Employer contributions 15.5 23.5 3.7 5.5
Plan participants’ contributions – – 1.1 0.9
Foreign currency exchange rate changes 9.3 – – –
Benefits paid (39.0) (37.7) (4.8) (4.4)
Fair value of plan assets at December 31, 606.6 579.2 19.0 17.3
Funded status of plan 25.0 (3.5) (13.9) (13.4)
Unrecognized prior service cost 5.9 6.7 3.1 3.6
Unrecognized actuarial loss 150.2 170.5 8.8 5.9
Prepaid (accrued) benefit cost $181.1 $173.7 $ (2.0) $ (3.9)