v2.3.0.11
Pension, Postretirement Health Care and Other Benefits
3 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2011
Pension, Postretirement Health Care and Other Benefits  
Pension, Postretirement Health Care and Other Benefits

10.  Pension, Postretirement Health Care and Other Benefits

 

We have qualified defined benefit pension plans covering team members who meet age and service requirements, including in certain circumstances, date of hire. We also have unfunded, nonqualified pension plans for team members with qualified plan compensation restrictions. Eligibility for, and the level of, these benefits varies depending on team members’ date of hire, length of service and/or team member compensation. Upon early retirement and prior to Medicare eligibility, team members also become eligible for certain health care benefits if they meet minimum age and service requirements and agree to contribute a portion of the cost. Effective January 1, 2009, our qualified defined benefit pension plan was closed to new participants, with limited exceptions.

 

The following table provides a summary of the amounts recognized in our Consolidated Statements of Financial Position for our postretirement benefit plans:

 

Net Pension and Postretirement

 

Pension Benefits

 

Postretirement Health Care Benefits

 

Health Care Benefits Expense

 

Three Months Ended

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

 

April 30,

 

May 1,

 

April 30,

 

May 1,

 

(millions)

 

2011

 

2010

 

2011

 

2010

 

Service cost

 

$

29

 

$

29

 

$

2

 

$

2

 

Interest cost

 

34

 

32

 

1

 

1

 

Expected return on assets

 

(51

)

(48

)

 

 

Recognized losses

 

16

 

11

 

1

 

1

 

Recognized prior service cost

 

(1

)

(1

)

(2

)

(2

)

Total

 

$

27

 

$

23

 

$

2

 

$

2

 

 

Even though we are not required to make any contributions, we may elect to make contributions depending on investment performance and the pension plan funded status in 2011.

 

We also maintain a nonqualified, unfunded deferred compensation plan for approximately 3,500 current and retired team members whose participation in our 401(k) plan is limited by statute or regulation. These team members choose from a menu of crediting rate alternatives that are the same as the investment choices in our 401(k) plan, including Target common stock. We credit an additional 2 percent per year to the accounts of all active participants, excluding executive officer participants, in part to recognize the risks inherent to their participation in a plan of this nature. We also maintain a nonqualified, unfunded deferred compensation plan that was frozen during 1996, covering substantially fewer than 100 participants, most of whom are retired. In this plan, deferred compensation earns returns tied to market levels of interest rates plus an additional 6 percent return, with a minimum of 12 percent and a maximum of 20 percent, as determined by the plan’s terms.

 

We mitigate some of our risk of offering the nonqualified plans through investing in vehicles, including company-owned life insurance and prepaid forward contracts in our own common stock, that offset a substantial portion of our economic exposure to the returns of these plans. These investment vehicles are general corporate assets and are marked to market with the related gains and losses recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations in the period they occur.

 

The total change in fair value for contracts indexed to our own common stock recognized in earnings was pretax income/(loss) of $(7) million during the three months ended April 30, 2011 and $7 million during the three months ended May 1, 2010. During first quarter 2011, we invested approximately $16 million in such investment instruments. This activity is included in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows within other investing activities. No investments were made in first quarter 2010. Adjusting our position in these investment vehicles may involve repurchasing shares of Target common stock when settling the forward contracts. For the three months ended April 30, 2011 and May 1, 2010, these repurchases totaled 0.1 million and 0.3 million shares, respectively, and are included in the total share repurchases described in Note 9.

 

At April 30, 2011, January 29, 2011 and May 1, 2010, our outstanding interest in contracts indexed to our common stock was as follows:

 

Prepaid Forward Contracts on Target
Common Stock

 

 

 

Contractual

 

 

 

 

 

(millions, except per share data)

 

Number of
Shares

 

Price Paid
per Share

 

Fair
Value

 

Total Cash
Investment

 

May 1, 2010

 

1.2

 

$

 41.67

 

$

69

 

$

 51

 

January 29, 2011

 

1.2

 

44.09

 

63

 

51

 

April 30, 2011

 

1.3

 

45.12

 

65

 

60