Twenty-First Century Fox 2006 Annual Report Download - page 108

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News Corporation
Notes totheConsolidated Financial Statements (CONTINUED)
The following table sets forth the estimated benefit payments for the next five fiscal years, and in aggregate for the five
fiscal years thereafter. The expected benefits are estimated based on the same assumptions used to measure the Company’s
benefit obligation at the end of the fiscal year and include benefits attributable to estimated future employee service:
Expected benefit payments
Pension
benefits
Postretirement
benefits
Fiscal year:
2007 90 7
2008 92 7
2009 94 8
2010 97 9
2011 100 9
2012 –2016 593 53
The Company’s investment strategy for its pension plansisto maximize the long-term rate of return on plan assets
within an acceptable level of risk in order to minimize the cost of providing pension benefits while maintaining adequate
funding levels. The Company’s practice is to conduct aperiodic strategic review of its asset allocation. The Company’s cur-
rent broad strategic targets are to have apension asset portfolio comprising of 61% equity securities, 36% fixed income
securities, 2% in real estate and 1% in other instruments. In developing the expected long-term rate of return, the Com-
pany considered the pension asset portfolio’s pastaverage rate of returns and future return expectationsofthe various asset
classes. At June 30, 2005, less than 2% of the total pension asset portfolio was invested in the Company’s equity securities.
During fiscal 2006, this investment was sold. A portion of the otherallocation is reserved in short-term cash to provide for
expected benefits to be paid in short term. The Company’s equity portfolios are managed in such away as to achieve opti-
mal diversity. The Company’s fixed income portfolio is investment grade in the aggregate. The Company does not manage
any assets internally.
The Company’s benefit plan weighted-average asset allocations, by asset category, are as follows:
Pension benefits
As of June 30,
2006 2005
(in millions)
Asset Category:
Equity securities 60% 60%
Debt securities 37% 29%
Real estate 2% 2%
Other 1% 9%
Total 100% 100%
The Company contributes to multi-employer plans that provide pension and health and welfare benefits to certain
employees under collective bargaining agreements. The contributions to these plans were $88 million, $75 million, and $68
million for the years ended June 30, 2006, 2005, and 2004, respectively. In addition,theCompany has defined con-
tribution plansforthebenefit of substantially all employees meeting certain eligibility requirements. Employer con-
tributions to such plans were $104 million, $76 million, and $60 million for the years ended June 30, 2006, 2005 and 2004,
respectively.
The Company does not expect mandatory pension funding requirements to be significant in fiscal 2007. However, the
Company does expect tocontinue making discretionary contributions to the plans during fiscal 2007.
108 NEWS CORPORATION