GAAP: pension expense

pension expense under current GAAP , not economic expense, do we need to include amortization of unrecognized prior service cost, and amortization of unrecognized loss? Thanks.

yes

it’s different from what you add to find economic expense tho.

Pension Expense = Service Cost + Interest +/- prior service cost +/- actuarial gain(loss) - expected return on assets

CYA SIEA Service cost + interest cost - expected return (+/-) amortization

amortization goes to comprehensive income, not pension expense.

Components of pension expense: Current service cost +Int cost -Expected return on plan assets +/- Amortization of prior service cost +/- Amortization of actuarial losses

Why isn’t pension expense == economic expense?

Economic expense: service cost + interest + acturial gain loss - expected return on assets.

pepp Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why isn’t pension expense == economic expense? because it’s a smoothed figure i can’t quite grasp pensions yet but here’s a good thread: http://www.analystforum.com/phorums/read.php?12,911230,page=1