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 .

quoted prices inactive marketsfor identical assets ( level 1 ): cash and cash equivalents: 9
equity securities: 4
fixed income securities: 2014
fair value of plan assets: 13
significant other observable inputs ( level 2 ): cash and cash equivalents: 2014
equity securities: 2014
fixed income securities: 3
fair value of plan assets: 3
december 31 2010: cash and cash equivalents: 9
equity securities: 4
fixed income securities: 3
fair value of plan assets: 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 .

Questions:
what is the net difference in expenses related to personal pension plans from 2008 to 2009?
what is that change divided by the 2008 value?

Answers:
-3
-18.8%