Time Magazine 2015 Annual Report Download - page 118

TIME WARNER INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Defined Contribution Plans
Time Warner has certain domestic and international defined contribution plans, including savings and profit sharing
plans, for which the expense amounted to $153 million in 2015, $160 million in 2014 and $153 million in 2013. The
Company’s contributions to the savings plans are primarily based on a percentage of the employees’ elected contributions
and are subject to plan provisions.
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
Time Warner also sponsors several unfunded domestic postretirement benefit plans covering certain retirees and their
dependents. As described above, during 2013, the Company’s Board of Directors approved amendments to the Time Warner
Group Health Plan. In connection with these amendments, the Company recognized a curtailment gain of $38 million in
2013. For substantially all of Time Warner’s domestic postretirement benefit plans, the unfunded benefit obligation as of
December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 was $93 million and $104 million, respectively, and the amount recognized in
Accumulated other comprehensive income, net was a gain of $19 million and $17 million, respectively. For the years ended
December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, the net periodic benefit costs/(income) were $2 million, $2 million and $(32) million,
respectively.
Multiemployer Benefit Plans
The Company contributes to various multiemployer defined benefit pension plans under the terms of collective-
bargaining agreements that cover certain of its union-represented employees, primarily at the Warner Bros. segment. The
risks of participating in these multiemployer pension plans are different from single-employer pension plans in that
(i) contributions made by the Company to the multiemployer pension plans may be used to provide benefits to employees of
other participating employers; (ii) if the Company chooses to stop participating in certain of these multiemployer pension
plans, it may be required to pay those plans an amount based on the underfunded status of the plan, which is referred to as a
withdrawal liability; and (iii) actions taken by a participating employer that lead to a deterioration of the financial health of a
multiemployer pension plan may result in the unfunded obligations of the multiemployer pension plan to be borne by its
remaining participating employers. While no multiemployer pension plan contributed to by the Company is individually
significant, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 zone status as of December 31, 2015 (i.e., for the multiemployer pension
plan’s 2014 plan year) of all of the largest multiemployer pension plans in which the Company participates was green, which
implies that such plans are funded at a level of 80 percent or greater. Total contributions made by the Company to
multiemployer pension plans for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $151 million, $125 million and
$113 million, respectively. Included in these amounts are contributions of less than $1 million in each of the years that Home
Box Office made to the Radio, Television and Recording Arts Pension Fund (“RT&RA Plan”) under a collective bargaining
agreement that expired in October 2015. In February 2016, Home Box Office completed the negotiation of a new collective
bargaining agreement under which it will no longer be required to make contributions to the RT&RA Plan. As a result, Home
Box Office has withdrawn from the RT&RA Plan and expects to record a charge in the quarter ended March 31, 2016 for its
estimated withdrawal liability, which it expects will not be greater than $25 million. The RT&RA Plan was not one of the
five largest multiemployer pension plans in which the Company participated during the years ended December 31, 2015,
2014 and 2013. The RT&RA Plan’s most recently filed Form 5500 was for its plan year ended December 31, 2014. Pursuant
to that filing, Home Box Office was one of eight employers obligated to contribute to the RT&RA Plan. The RT&RA Plan is
operating under a rehabilitation plan, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 zone status for this plan as of December 31, 2014
was red (i.e., critical) and it was less than 65% funded. Based on contributions reported in the most recent Form 5500 for this
plan, Home Box Office’s contributions represented greater than 5% of the plan’s total contributions.
The Company also contributes to various other multiemployer benefit plans that provide health and welfare benefits to
active and retired participants, primarily at the Warner Bros. segment. Total contributions made by the Company to these
other multiemployer benefit plans for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $231 million, $213 million
and $193 million, respectively.
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