[28] Retirement benefit obligation

The retirement benefit obligation is recognised for obligations to provide current and future post-employment benefits. Post-employment benefit plans are classified as either defined benefit plans or defined contribution plans, depending on the substance of the plan as derived from its principal terms and conditions.

Defined contribution plans

In the case of defined contribution pension plans, the Group pays contributions to government or private pension insurance providers based on statutory or contractual provisions, or on a voluntary basis. The Group does not enter into any obligations above and beyond the payment of contributions to an external pension fund. The amount of future pension benefits is based solely on the amount of the contributions paid by the employer (and in some cases the beneficiaries themselves) to the external pension fund, including income from the investment of these contributions. The total expense arising from defined contribution plans amounted to €93.3 million in 2018 (2017: €92.9 million). Of this total, contributions paid by employers into government-run schemes came to €76.7 million (2017: €72.8 million). The defined contribution plan expense is reported within the functional costs.

Defined benefit plans

In the case of defined benefit plans, the beneficiaries are granted a specific benefit by the Group or an external pension fund. Due to future salary increases, the benefit entitlement at the retirement age of the beneficiary is likely to be higher than the amount granted as at the reporting date. Pensions are often adjusted after an employee reaches retirement age. The amount of the Group’s obligation, which is defined as the actuarial present value of the obligation to provide the level of benefits currently earned by each beneficiary, is expressed as the present value of the defined benefit obligation (DBO) including adjustments for future salary and pension increases.

The KION Group currently grants pensions to almost all employees in Germany and a number of foreign employees. These pensions consist of fixed benefit entitlements and are therefore reported as defined benefit plans in accordance with IFRS. As at 31 December 2018, the KION Group had set up defined benefit plans in 13 countries. For all of the significant defined benefit plans within the Group, the benefits granted to employees are determined on the basis of their individual income, i.e. either directly or by way of intermediate benefit arrangements. The largest of the KION Group’s defined benefit plans – together accounting for 92.7 per cent of the global defined benefit obligation (31 December 2017: 93.0 per cent) – are in Germany, the United Kingdom and the US.

Germany

In Germany, the pension benefits granted comprise Company-funded pension entitlements and employees’ payment of part of their salary into the pension scheme. The existing pension plans were closed to new entrants with effect from 1 January 2018. As part of the restructuring of the pension plans, the guaranteed rate of return on contributions and the pension factors used for the annuitisation of capital commitments were adjusted to reflect conditions in financial markets.

The contributions to the new pension plans will be invested in investment funds under contractual trust arrangements; returns on plan assets will be passed on to the pension beneficiaries when an insured event occurs. Members of the Executive Board and other executives are predominantly covered by individual pension plans. For details of the pension entitlements of KION GROUP AG Executive Board members, please refer to the information in note [46]. The amount of the benefits paid to executives depends on the type of entitlement. A very small proportion of pension benefits are granted in the form of final-salary-linked benefit obligations. The overwhelming majority of the existing pension entitlements are a combination of a defined benefit obligation and a defined contribution component. The pension plan for senior managers was closed to new entrants with effect from 1 January 2018. The revised pension plan is structured in the same way as the aforementioned plan for employees covered by collective pay agreements and those not subject to such agreements. Different contributions are granted to senior managers depending on their role.

Beside the securities-linked pension entitlements, some of the KION Group’s pension obligations in Germany under the closed plans are financed by way of contractual trust arrangements (CTAs). The assets transferred to the trustee qualify as plan assets within the meaning of IAS 19. The trustees are required to follow a defined investment strategy and guidelines. There are no statutory minimum funding requirements. In the event of the Company’s insolvency, the company pension scheme in Germany is to a large extent protected by law by the insolvency protection scheme (Pensions-Sicherungs-Verein Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit, PSVaG).

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, defined benefit pension obligations predominantly relate to two plans. The defined benefits include not only a life-long retirement pension but also surviving dependants’ benefits. The amount of the pension depends on employees’ length of service and final salary.

The two plans were closed to new employees more than ten years ago. Each plan is monitored by its own board of trustees, which oversees the running of the plan as well as its funded status and the investment strategy. The members of the board of trustees comprise people appointed by the company involved and selected plan beneficiaries.

Under UK law, the board of trustees is obliged to have a valuation of the plan carried out at least every three years. The trustees and the Company are currently assessing the valuation of the pension plans as at 1 January 2018. A new agreement with the trustees is expected to be reached in 2019.

In addition, collateral in rem in the form of charges on the real estate of Group companies in the UK and flexible collateral in respect of the rental fleets of UK dealers within a maximum overall limit of approximately €20.0 million were extended for the benefit of the pension funds. The term of this collateral is limited to 1 July 2021, and the overall limit will not be reduced by payments made by the KION Group. The likelihood of the guarantee being used is deemed low in view of the position of the individual companies with regard to their current and future financial and earnings situations.

United States

Following the acquisition of Dematic, the KION Group maintains three main defined benefit pension plans in the US. The defined benefits include not only a life-long retirement pension but also surviving dependants’ benefits.

Unionised employees receive pension entitlements on the basis of fixed amounts for each month of service. Salaried employees receive benefits that generally depend on their period of service and on their average final salary fixed on the date the plan concerned was frozen. These defined benefit plans have been frozen for some time now in relation to future periods of service.

Two of the plans are subject to statutory minimum funding provisions that each specify a certain coverage ratio and provide for annual payments to maintain the required ratio. In 2018, a one-off sum of €17.8 million was paid.

Other countries

Furthermore, significant asset volumes are invested in external pension funds with restricted access in Switzerland and the Netherlands. Decisions on additions to plan assets take into account the change in plan assets and pension obligations. They also take into account the statutory minimum coverage requirements and the amounts deductible under local tax rules.

Measurement assumptions

In accordance with IAS 19 ‘Employee Benefits’, pension provisions are recognised to cover obligations arising from the current and future pension entitlements of active and (after the vesting period has expired) former employees of the KION Group and their surviving dependants. The discount rate used to calculate the defined benefit obligation at each reporting date is determined on the basis of current capital market data and long-term assumptions about future salary and pension increases in accordance with the best estimate principle. These assumptions vary depending on the economic conditions affecting the currency in which benefit obligations are denominated and in which fund assets are invested, as well as capital market expectations.

Benefit obligations are calculated on the basis of current biometric probabilities as determined in accordance with actuarial principles. The calculations also include assumptions about future employee turnover based on employee age and years of service and about the probability of retirement. The defined benefit obligation is calculated on the basis of the significant weighted-average assumptions as at the reporting date shown in > TABLE 084.

The assumed discount rate is determined on the basis of the yield as at the reporting date on AA-rated, fixed-interest senior corporate bonds with maturities that match the expected maturities of the pension obligations. Pension obligations in foreign companies are calculated on a comparable basis taking into account any country-specific requirements.

Future increases in salaries are estimated on an annual basis taking into account factors such as inflation and the overall economic situation.

The biometric mortality rates used in the calculation are based on published country-specific statistics and empirical values. Since 2018, the Heubeck ‘Richttafeln 2018 G’ mortality tables have been used as the biometric basis in Germany. The S2PA tables (standard mortality tables for self-administered pension schemes (SAPS) based on normal health) are applied to the two defined benefit plans in the United Kingdom. In the US, calculations use the modified RP-2014 mortality tables with the generational projection from the Mortality Improvement Scale MP-2016.

The actuarial assumptions not listed in > TABLE 084, such as employee turnover, invalidity, etc., are determined in accordance with recognised forecasts in each country, taking into account the circumstances and forecasts in the companies concerned.

The significant weighted-average assumptions shown in > TABLE 085 were applied to the calculation of the net interest cost and the cost of benefits earned in the current year (current service cost).

Differences between the forecast and actual change in the defined benefit obligation and changes in related assets (known as remeasurements) are recognised immediately in other comprehensive income (loss) in accordance with IAS 19. This serves to ensure that the pension liability in the statement of financial position is the present value of the defined benefit obligation.

In the case of externally funded pension plans, this present value of the defined benefit obligation is reduced by the fair value of the assets of the external pension fund (plan assets). If the plan assets exceed the present value of the defined benefit obligation (net assets), a corresponding asset is recognised in accordance with IAS 19. IAS 19.64 in conjunction with the supplementary explanatory information in IFRIC 14 states that the recognition of an asset for an excess of plan assets is only permitted if the company concerned, in its function as the employer, gains economic benefits in the form of reductions in future contributions to the plan or in the form of refunds from the plan (this is the case for the defined benefit plans in the United Kingdom). If the present value of the defined benefit obligation is not covered by the plan assets, the net obligation is reported under the retirement benefit obligation.

In two defined benefit plans in the United Kingdom, plan assets exceed the present value of the defined benefit obligation. Stipulations limiting the asset to be recognised in the statement of financial position do not apply.

Statement of financial position

The change in the present value of the defined benefit obligation (DBO) is shown in > TABLE 086.

The DBO in the other countries was predominantly attributable to subsidiaries in Switzerland (2018: €54.7 million; 2017: €50.2 million) and the Netherlands (2018: €35.9 million; 2017: €35.7 million).

The change in the fair value of plan assets is shown in > TABLE 087.

Employees in Germany paid a total of €3.7 million (2017: €3.5 million) into the KION pension plan in 2018.

The payments expected for 2019 amount to €22.2 million (in 2017: €26.1 million for 2018), which includes direct payments of pension benefits amounting to €19.8 million (in 2017: €19.3 million for 2018) that are not covered by corresponding reimbursements from plan assets.

The reconciliation of funded status and net defined benefit obligation to the amounts reported in the consolidated statement of financial position as at 31 December is shown in > TABLE 088.

Overall, the funding ratio (ratio of plan assets to the present value of the defined benefit obligation) in the KION Group was 43.4 per cent (2017: 44.5 per cent).

The changes in the retirement benefit obligations reported in the statement of financial position are shown in > TABLE 089.

Statement of cash flows

In the case of obligations not covered by external assets, payments to beneficiaries are made directly by the Company and therefore have an impact on cash flow from operating activities. If the benefit obligations are backed by external assets, the payments are made from existing plan assets and have no effect on the Company’s cash flow. Instead, any contributions made to the external pension fund by the Company result in a cash outflow for operating activities.

For the main pension entitlements in the KION Group, a sum of €17.5 million (2017: €17.9 million) was paid directly by the Company and a sum of €31.9 million (2017: €28.3 million) was paid from plan assets in the reporting year. Cash contributions to plan assets in 2018 amounted to €19.7 million (2017: €10.0 million).

Income statement

In accordance with IAS 19, actuarial computations are performed for benefit obligations in order to determine the amount to be expensed in each period in accordance with fixed rules. The expenses recognised in the income statement for pensions and similar obligations consist of a number of components that must be calculated and disclosed separately.

The service cost is the new pension entitlement arising in the financial year and is recognised in the income statement. It is calculated as the present value of that proportion of the expected defined benefit obligation when the pension is paid attributable to the year under review on the basis of the maximum length of service achievable by each employee.

Past service cost arises if there is a change to the pension entitlement and it is recognised immediately in full.

The net interest cost / income, which is calculated by multiplying the net liability (present value of the defined benefit obligation minus plan assets) or the net assets (if the plan assets exceed the present value of the defined benefit obligation) at the start of the year by the discount rate, is also recognised in the income statement.

The breakdown of the net cost of the defined benefit obligation (expenses less income) recognised in the income statement for 2018 is shown in > TABLE 090.

The KION Group’s net financial expenses include a net interest cost of €18.8 million (2017: €18.9 million). All other components of pension expenses are recognised under functional costs.

The actual total return on plan assets in 2018 was minus €11.2 million (2017: plus €53.1 million).

Other comprehensive income (loss)

The breakdown of the remeasurement of the defined benefit obligation recognised in the statement of comprehensive income in 2018 is presented in > TABLE 091.

The components of the remeasurements of the defined benefit obligations are listed in > TABLE 086.

The gains and losses on the remeasurement of plan assets are attributable entirely to experience adjustments. The changes in estimates relating to defined benefit pension entitlements resulted in a €0.2 million decrease in equity as at 31 December 2018 after deduction of deferred taxes (31 December 2017: increase of €18.7 million).

Composition of plan assets

The plan assets of the main pension plans consist of the following components: > TABLE 092

Sensitivity analysis

The present value of the defined benefit obligation is based on the significant assumptions detailed in > TABLE 084 above. If one assumption were to vary and the other assumptions remained unchanged, the impact on the present value of the defined benefit obligation would be as shown in > TABLE 093.

The sensitivity analysis shown in > TABLE 093 is not representative of an actual change in the present value of the defined benefit obligation because variations in the significant assumptions are unlikely to occur in isolation as, to some extent, the assumptions are interrelated. Sensitivity is determined using the same methods (projected unit credit method) as for the measurement of the obligation recognised in the consolidated statement of financial position as at 31 December 2018.

Future pension benefit payments

The pension benefit payments shown in > TABLE 094 are forecast for the next ten years for the defined benefit pension entitlements in existence as at 31 December 2018. The expected pension benefits break down into future benefits to be paid directly by the employer (for 2019: €19.8 million) and future benefits to be paid from existing plan assets (for 2019: €36.3 million).

As at the reporting date, the average duration of the defined benefit obligation, weighted on the basis of the present value of the defined benefit obligation, was 21.5 years in Germany (2017: 22.2 years), 14.3 years in the United Kingdom (2017: 15.5 years), 12.9 years in the US (2017: 14.1 years) and 15.7 years in the other countries (2017: 16.0 years).

Risks

The funding ratio, the defined benefit obligation and the associated costs depend on the performance of financial markets. The return on plan assets is assumed to equal the discount rate, which is determined on the basis of the yield earned on AA-rated, fixed-interest senior corporate bonds. If the actual return on plan assets falls below the discount rates applied, the net obligation arising out of the pension plans increases. The amount of the net obligation is also particularly affected by the discount rates, and the current low level of interest rates – especially in the eurozone – is resulting in a comparatively large net obligation.

The plan assets are predominantly invested in corporate bonds and inflation-linked UK government bonds, particularly in the United Kingdom. The market risk attaching to plan assets – above all in the case of equities – is mitigated by defining an investment strategy and investment guidelines and constantly monitoring the assets’ performance. Moreover, a downward trend in financial markets could have a significant effect on minimum funding requirements, some of which apply outside Germany.

The KION Group also bears the full risk of possible future pension adjustments resulting from changes in longevity and inflation.

Payroll-based contributions to the KION pension plan made by employees in Germany are invested in fund units. If the actual returns on these fund units fall below the minimum rate of return that has been guaranteed to participating employees, the KION Group’s personnel expenses rise.