GE 2005 Annual Report Download - page 93

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 93 of the 2005 GE annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 164

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128
  • 129
  • 130
  • 131
  • 132
  • 133
  • 134
  • 135
  • 136
  • 137
  • 138
  • 139
  • 140
  • 141
  • 142
  • 143
  • 144
  • 145
  • 146
  • 147
  • 148
  • 149
  • 150
  • 151
  • 152
  • 153
  • 154
  • 155
  • 156
  • 157
  • 158
  • 159
  • 160
  • 161
  • 162
  • 163
  • 164

(93)
Note 7
Pension Benefits
We sponsor a number of pension plans. Principal pension plans, together with affiliate and certain other pension
plans (other pension plans), detailed in this note represent about 99% of our total pension assets.
PRINCIPAL PENSION PLANS are the GE Pension Plan and the GE Supplementary Pension Plan.
The GE Pension Plan provides benefits to certain U.S. employees based on the greater of a formula
recognizing career earnings or a formula recognizing length of service and final average earnings. Certain benefit
provisions are subject to collective bargaining.
The GE Supplementary Pension Plan is an unfunded plan providing supplementary retirement benefits
primarily to higher-level, longer-service U.S. employees.
OTHER PENSION PLANS in 2005 included 33 U.S. and non-U.S. pension plans with pension assets or
obligations greater than $50 million. These defined benefit plans provide benefits to employees based on formulas
recognizing length of service and earnings.
To determine the expected long-term rate of return on pension plan assets, we consider the current and
expected asset allocations, as well as historical and expected returns on various categories of plan assets. For the
principal pension plans, we apply our expected rate of return to a market-related value of assets, which stabilizes
variability in assets to which we apply that expected return.
We amortize experience gains and losses and effects of changes in actuarial assumptions and plan
provisions over a period no longer than the average future service of employees.
PENSION PLAN PARTICIPANTS
December 31, 2005 (In thousands) Total
Principal
pension
plans
Other
pension
plans
Active employees 188 143 45
Vested former employees 210 173 37
Retirees and beneficiaries 230 207 23
Total 628 523 105