Ameriprise 2011 Annual Report Download - page 174

Defined Contribution Plan
In addition to the plans described previously, the Company’s employees are generally eligible to participate in the
Ameriprise Financial 401(k) Plan (the ‘‘401(k) Plan’’). The 401(k) Plan allows eligible employees to make contributions
through payroll deductions up to IRS limits and invest their contributions in one or more of the 401(k) Plan investment
options, which include the Ameriprise Financial Stock Fund. Effective March 1, 2010, the Company matches 100% of the
first 5% of eligible compensation an employee contributes on a pretax or Roth 401(k) basis for each annual period. Prior
to March 1, 2010, the Company matched 100% of the first 3% of base pay an employee contributed on a pretax basis
each pay period. Effective March 1, 2010, the Company no longer makes an annual discretionary variable match. Prior to
May 2009, the Company also made contributions equal to 1% of base pay each pay period, which were automatically
invested in the Ameriprise Financial Stock Fund.
Under the 401(k) Plan, employees become eligible for contributions under the plan during the pay period they reach
60 days of service. Fixed and variable match contributions and stock contributions are fully vested after five years of
service, vesting ratably over the first five years of service. The Company’s defined contribution plan expense was
$33 million, $32 million and $16 million in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.
Threadneedle Profit Sharing Plan
On an annual basis, Threadneedle employees are eligible for a profit sharing arrangement. The employee profit sharing
plan provides for profit sharing of 30% based on an internally defined recurring pretax operating income measure for
Threadneedle, which primarily includes pretax income related to investment management services and investment portfolio
income excluding gains and losses on asset disposals, certain reorganization expenses, EPP and EIP expenses and other
non-recurring expenses. Compensation expense related to the employee profit sharing plan was $54 million, $52 million
and $32 million in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.
22. Commitments, Guarantees and Contingencies
Commitments
The Company is committed to pay aggregate minimum rentals under noncancelable operating leases for office facilities
and equipment in future years as follows:
(in millions)
2012 $ 97
2013 88
2014 83
2015 73
2016 61
Thereafter 206
Total $ 608
For the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, operating lease expense was $97 million, $103 million and
$103 million, respectively.
The following table presents the Company’s funding commitments:
December 31,
2011 2010
(in millions)
Commercial mortgage loan commitments $ 19 $ 22
Consumer mortgage loan commitments 730 525
Consumer lines of credit 1,685 1,533
Affordable housing partnerships 267 188
Total funding commitments $ 2,701 $ 2,268
The Company’s life and annuity products all have minimum interest rate guarantees in their fixed accounts. As of
December 31, 2011, these guarantees range up to 5%. To the extent the yield on the Company’s invested asset portfolio
declines below its target spread plus the minimum guarantee, the Company’s profitability would be negatively affected.
Guarantees
Owing to conditions then-prevailing in the credit markets and the isolated defaults of unaffiliated structured investment
vehicles held in the portfolios of money market funds advised by its Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC
subsidiary (the ‘‘2a-7 Funds’’), the Company closely monitored the net asset value of the 2a-7 Funds during 2008 and
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