13 Provisions for Pensions

WACKER Group employees can avail themselves of various post-employment pension plans, which depend on the legal, economic, and fiscal conditions prevailing in the respective countries. These pension plans generally take account of employees’ length of service and salary levels.

The company pension plan makes a distinction between defined contribution and defined benefit plans. Defined contribution plans lead to no further obligation for the company beyond paying contributions into special-purpose funds. Group companies have both defined contribution and defined benefit plans. They are financed, on one hand, by funds/Pensionskasse der Wacker Chemie VVaG, and, on the other, by provisions in the form of direct commitments. Pension obligations result from defined benefit plans in the form of entitlements to future pensions and ongoing payments for eligible active and former employees of the WACKER Group and their surviving dependents.

Employees in Germany have the option of converting part of their remuneration into direct benefit commitments. Benefit plans taken out by December 31, 2000 are measured (in accordance with the projected unit credit method) at the value of years’ service to date/years served to retirement (pro rata temporis), whereas any benefit plans taken out on or after January 1, 2001 are measured at the present value of the defined benefit obligation.

In view of their pension-like character, obligations relating to the medical care of retired employees (USA) and severance payments are likewise included under pension provisions.

The obligations from direct benefit plans are calculated using the projected unit credit method, taking account of anticipated future payout and pension adjustments. The current service cost of pension benefit claimants results from the planned development of provisions for anticipated future pension payments. Any differences between those pension obligations calculated as planned and the defined benefit obligation at the end of the year are treated as actuarial gains or losses and, with the exception of effects of changed assumptions regarding probable mortality rates in the follow-up periods, are spread over the average remaining service years of the plan participants, insofar as these differences exceed 10% of the greater of the market value of the defined benefit obligation and the present value of the plan assets. In the past, the effects resulting from changed assumptions regarding probable mortality rates were also taken into account in accordance with the corridor method. WACKER takes the view that as far as probable mortality rates are concerned, continuous increases in life expectancy can be expected. Smoothing out pension-expense fluctuations for the period on the basis of changed or adjusted mortality tables is, therefore, not useful. In order to supply more reliable and more relevant information, WACKER decided in the 2009 fiscal year to report losses resulting from changes in life expectancy immediately through profit and loss as an increase in pension obligations rather than, as before, in the corridor with no effect on results. Deviations in the other valuation parameters are still taken into account as actuarial gains or losses in accordance with the corridor method. An adjustment to the mortality tables in the 2009 fiscal year led, as a result of the change in the method used, to additional expenses of €47.9 million. The change of method had no material effects on the previous years.

In compliance with their respective national legislation, some relatively small foreign subsidiaries take on pension-related obligations arising from severance payments after the scheduled termination of employment. These obligations are likewise reported as pension provisions.

The obligations are financed only in part by means of provisions. Group pension obligations are financed to a considerable degree by externally invested plan assets. In the case of both Wacker Chemie AG and the German Group companies, these assets are handled by Pensionskasse der Wacker Chemie VVaG.

The funding of Pensionskasse der Wacker Chemie VVaG by the German domestic Group companies is included in expenses for pensions. The pension obligations resulting from the application of the projected unit credit method are reduced by the fair value of the plan assets and by still unrecognized actuarial losses, or increased by still unrecognized actuarial gains, provided that these do not concern effects from changes in likely mortality rates. Actuarial gains or losses from changed or adjusted mortality tables reduce or increase, respectively, the pension obligation reported.

If the plan assets exceed the obligation from the pension commitment, an asset is generally recorded. It can, however, be capitalized only on the condition that the reporting entity can draw commercial benefits from these assets, e.g. in the form of refunds from the plan or reductions in future contributions to the plan (“asset ceiling” pursuant to IAS 19.58 et seq.).

As Pensionskasse der Wacker Chemie VVaG sets its contributions in the manner stipulated by supervisory bodies, there is no access to the surplus fund assets in Germany. Surplus amounts are, therefore, not capitalized. Unless the fund assets cover the obligation, the net obligation is shown as a liability under pension provisions.

The pension obligations are calculated taking account of company-specific biometric calculation principles and country-specific calculation principles and parameters. The calculations are based on actuarial valuations that take account of the following parameters:

The expected return on plan assets was estimated based on past trends and anticipated values for the following year. Interest income may vary in the fund’s individual asset classes. The percentage rate chosen corresponds to the average rate of all asset types.

To arrive at the amount recognized as a defined benefit liability, the plan assets transferred into funds are balanced against the defined benefit obligation at the end of the year (financial status). Provisions for pensions are obtained after the actuarial profits and losses not yet recognized are deducted or added as appropriate.

The pension expenses incurred as a result of defined benefit plans and the sum total of all pension expenses consist of the following:

Deviations between the obligations and the plan assets on the basis of the assumptions and actual developments:

In 2010, we expect contributions to plan assets to amount to €24.6 million.