Macy's, the iconic department store chain based in Cincinnati, announced it would skip a planned $150 million payment to its pension fund because of high investment returns in the fourth quarter of 2013.
The $150 million amount, which had been mentioned in Macy's 10-K filing with the SEC in April, was the same sum contributed in 2012. At end of that year, the company's pension plan was 95 percent funded with about $34 billion in assets.
Last February, Macy's announced it would freeze its pension benefits as of the end of 2013. At the same time, it said it would increase the amount it pumped into its defined contributions plan.
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The company said it was making the change "to better plan and manage expenses in an environment in which health care costs are expected to increase."
It said the costs savings from freezing the pension plan would offset rising health care expenses.
Macy's operates about 840 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy's and Bloomingdale's.
Rising equities markets and higher interest rates helped corporate pension plans erase the losses they incurred during the Great Recession. The funded status of the largest corporate pension systems reached 93 percent at the end of last year.
This year, industry observers expect more of the same, but there could be a few bumps in the road.
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