Company: ACCO
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-024931
Chunk: 39

Company: ACCO BRANDS Corp
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 7
Chunk 39
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 by constructing a yield curve based on a large population of high-quality corporate bonds. Where the corporate bond market is not sufficiently deep, government bond yields are used instead. The resulting discount rates reflect the matching of plan liability cash flows to the yield curves. 

For the ACCO Europe Pension Plan, the Company’s discount rate assumption methodology was based on the yield curve that uses a dataset of bonds rated AA by at least one of the main rating agencies.

The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets reflects management’s expectations of long-term average rates of return on funds invested based on our investment profile to provide for benefits included in the projected benefit obligations. The expected return is based on the outlook for inflation, fixed income returns and equity returns, while also considering historical returns over the last 10 years, asset allocation and investment strategy.

We estimate the service and interest components of net periodic benefit cost (income) for pension and post-retirement benefits utilizing a full yield curve approach by applying the specific spot rates along the yield curve used in the determination of the benefit obligation to the relevant projected cash flows.

At the end of each calendar year an actuarial evaluation is performed to determine the funded status of our pension and post-retirement obligations and any actuarial gain or loss is recognized in AOCI and then amortized into the income statement in future periods, based on the average remaining lifetime or average remaining service expected.

We recognized pension expense of $7.1 million and $2.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023,respectively and pension income of $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Post-retirement income was $0.4 million, $0.3 million, and $0.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively. The increase in pension expense was primarily due to settlement costs and changes in discount rates.

The weighted average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 were as follows:

    Pension
     
    Post-retirement

    U.S.
     
    International

    2024
     
    2023
     
    2022
     
    2024
     
    2023
     
    2022
     
    2024
     
    2023