General Motors 2012 Annual Report Download - page 126

GENERAL MOTORS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Note 18. Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits
Employee Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Defined benefit pension plans covering eligible U.S. hourly employees (hired prior to October 15, 2007) and Canadian hourly
employees generally provide benefits of negotiated, stated amounts for each year of service and supplemental benefits for employees who
retire with 30 years of service before normal retirement age. The benefits provided by the defined benefit pension plans covering eligible
U.S. (hired prior to January 1, 2001) and Canadian salaried employees and employees in certain other non-U.S. locations are generally
based on years of service and compensation history. Accrual of defined pension benefits ceased on September 30, 2012 for U.S. salaried
employees and on December 31, 2012 for Canadian salaried employees. There is also an unfunded nonqualified pension plan covering
primarily U.S. executives for service prior to January 1, 2007 and it is based on an “excess plan” for service after that date.
Pension Contributions
The funding policy for qualified defined benefit pension plans is to contribute annually not less than the minimum required by
applicable law and regulations or to directly pay benefit payments where appropriate. At December 31, 2012 all legal funding
requirements had been met. We expect to contribute $97 million to our U.S. non-qualified plans and $823 million to our non-U.S.
pension plans in 2013.
The following table summarizes contributions made to the defined benefit pension plans or direct payments to plan beneficiaries
(dollars in millions):
Years Ended December 31,
2012 2011 2010
U.S. hourly and salaried .................................................................. $2,420 $1,962 $4,095
Non-U.S. ............................................................................. 855 836 777
Total ................................................................................. $3,275 $2,798 $4,872
We made a voluntary contribution in January 2011 to our U.S. hourly and salaried defined benefit pension plans of 61 million
shares of our common stock valued at $2.2 billion for funding purposes at the time of contribution. The contributed shares qualified as
a plan asset for funding purposes at the time of contribution and as a plan asset valued at $1.9 billion for accounting purposes in July
2011. This was a voluntary contribution above our funding requirements for the pension plans.
We continue to pursue various options to fund and derisk our pension plans, including continued changes to the pension asset
portfolio mix to reduce funded status volatility.
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
Certain hourly and salaried defined benefit plans provide postretirement medical, dental, legal service and life insurance to eligible
U.S. and Canadian retirees and their eligible dependents. Certain other non-U.S. subsidiaries have postretirement benefit plans,
although most non-U.S. employees are covered by government sponsored or administered programs.
General Motors Company 2012 ANNUAL REPORT 123