1 2 4 n o t e s effective january 1 , 2011 , all u.s .employees , including u.s .legacy bgi employees , will participate in the brsp .all plan assets in the two legacy bgi plans , including the 401k plan and retirement plan ( see below ) , were merged into the brsp on january 1 , 2011 .under the combined brsp , employee contributions of up to 8% ( 8 % ) of eligible compensation , as defined by the plan and subject to irc limitations , will be matched by the company at 50% ( 50 % ) .in addition , the company will continue to make an annual retirement contribution to eligible participants equal to 3-5% ( 3-5 % ) of eligible compensation .blackrock institutional trust company 401 ( k ) savings plan ( formerly the bgi 401 ( k ) savings plan ) the company assumed a 401 ( k ) plan ( the 201cbgi plan 201d ) covering employees of former bgi as a result of the bgi transaction .as part of the bgi plan , employee contributions for participants with at least one year of service were matched at 200% ( 200 % ) of participants 2019 pre-tax contributions up to 2% ( 2 % ) of base salary and overtime , and matched 100% ( 100 % ) of the next 2% ( 2 % ) of base salary and overtime , as defined by the plan and subject to irc limitations .the maximum matching contribution a participant would have received is an amount equal to 6% ( 6 % ) of base salary up to the irc limitations .the bgi plan expense was $ 12 million for the year ended december 31 , 2010 and immaterial to the company 2019s consolidated financial statements for the year ended december 31 , 2009 .effective january 1 , 2011 , the net assets of this plan merged into the brsp .blackrock institutional trust company retirement plan ( formerly the bgi retirement plan ) the company assumed a defined contribution money purchase pension plan ( 201cbgi retirement plan 201d ) as a result of the bgi transaction .all salaried employees of former bgi and its participating affiliates who were u.s .residents on the u.s .payroll were eligible to participate .for participants earning less than $ 100000 in base salary , the company contributed 6% ( 6 % ) of a participant 2019s total compensation ( base salary , overtime and performance bonus ) up to $ 100000 .for participants earning $ 100000 or more in base salary , the company contributed 6% ( 6 % ) of a participant 2019s base salary and overtime up to the irc limita- tion of $ 245000 in 2010 .these contributions were 25% ( 25 % ) vested once the participant has completed two years of service and then vested at a rate of 25% ( 25 % ) for each additional year of service completed .employees with five or more years of service under the retirement plan were 100% ( 100 % ) vested in their entire balance .the retirement plan expense was $ 13 million for the year ended december 31 , 2010 and immaterial to the company 2019s consolidated financial statements for the year ended december 31 , 2009 .effective january 1 , 2011 , the net assets of this plan merged into the brsp .blackrock group personal pension plan blackrock investment management ( uk ) limited ( 201cbim 201d ) , a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company , contributes to the blackrock group personal pension plan , a defined contribution plan for all employees of bim .bim contributes between 6% ( 6 % ) and 15% ( 15 % ) of each employee 2019s eligible compensation .the expense for this plan was $ 22 million , $ 13 million and $ 16 million for the years ended december 31 , 2010 , 2009 and 2008 , respectively .defined benefit plans in 2009 , prior to the bgi transaction , the company had several defined benefit pension plans in japan , germany , luxembourg and jersey .all accrued benefits under these defined benefit plans are currently frozen and the plans are closed to new participants .in 2008 , the defined benefit pension values in luxembourg were transferred into a new defined contribution plan for such employees , removing future liabilities .participant benefits under the plans will not change with salary increases or additional years of service .through the bgi transaction , the company assumed defined benefit pension plans in japan and germany which are closed to new participants .during 2010 , these plans merged into the legacy blackrock plans in japan ( the 201cjapan plan 201d ) and germany .at december 31 , 2010 and 2009 , the plan assets for these plans were approximately $ 19 million and $ 10 million , respectively , and the unfunded obligations were less than $ 6 million and $ 3 million , respectively , which were recorded in accrued compensation and benefits on the consolidated statements of financial condition .benefit payments for the next five years and in aggregate for the five years thereafter are not expected to be material .defined benefit plan assets for the japan plan of approximately $ 16 million are invested using a total return investment approach whereby a mix of equity securities , debt securities and other investments are used to preserve asset values , diversify risk and achieve the target investment return benchmark .investment strategies and asset allocations are based on consideration of plan liabilities and the funded status of the plan .investment performance and asset allocation are measured and monitored on an ongoing basis .the current target allocations for the plan assets are 45-50% ( 45-50 % ) for u.s .and international equity securities , 50-55% ( 50-55 % ) for u.s .and international fixed income securities and 0-5% ( 0-5 % ) for cash and cash equivalents .the table below provides the fair value of the defined benefit japan plan assets at december 31 , 2010 by asset category .the table also identifies the level of inputs used to determine the fair value of assets in each category .quoted prices significant in active other markets for observable identical assets inputs december 31 , ( dollar amounts in millions ) ( level 1 ) ( level 2 ) 2010 .
[['( dollar amounts in millions )', 'quoted prices inactive marketsfor identical assets ( level 1 )', 'significant other observable inputs ( level 2 )', 'december 31 2010'], ['cash and cash equivalents', '$ 9', '$ 2014', '$ 9'], ['equity securities', '4', '2014', '4'], ['fixed income securities', '2014', '3', '3'], ['fair value of plan assets', '$ 13', '$ 3', '$ 16']]
the assets and unfunded obligation for the defined benefit pension plan in germany and jersey were immaterial to the company 2019s consolidated financial statements at december 31 , 2010 .post-retirement benefit plans prior to the bgi transaction , the company had requirements to deliver post-retirement medical benefits to a closed population based in the united kingdom and through the bgi transaction , the company assumed a post-retirement benefit plan to a closed population of former bgi employees in the united kingdom .for the years ended december 31 , 2010 , 2009 and 2008 , expenses and unfunded obligations for these benefits were immaterial to the company 2019s consolidated financial statements .in addition , through the bgi transaction , the company assumed a requirement to deliver post-retirement medical benefits to a .

Question: what is the percentage change in expenses related to personal pension plan from 2008 to 2009?
Answer: -18.8%