We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Accounting

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is Pension Liability?

John Lister
By
Updated: May 16, 2024
Views: 33,619
Share

Pension liability refers to the fact that either a private company or a national government will have to account for making future pension payments. The methods used to make this accounting can vary immensely. A larger than expected liability can either literally force a company out of business or cause it to be insolvent on paper.

The term pension liability does not refer to the total amount a company will have to pay in future pensions. Instead it refers to the difference between that amount and the amount of money the company has earmarked to make those payments. Of course, the company may have more money than it needs, which is known as a pension surplus.

A pension liability will generally only occur in defined benefit schemes. This is where the company has agreed in advance to provide pensions of a set amount to staff, often set as a proportion of their salary in their last year of retirement. The alternative system, a defined contribution scheme, involves the company only guaranteeing how much it will invest towards future pensions. This means the pensions paid are unpredictable, depending on the performance of the investments, so logically there can't be a pension liability.

To make things more complicated, a company does not usually pay a pension directly. Instead it buys an annuity, which converts a flat amount of cash into a guaranteed annual payment for the pensioner's lifetime. The relationship between the cash payment and the annuity payout varies over time. This means the amount of money the company needs to fund a guaranteed pension can change dramatically from year to year.

Calculating pension liabilities can be an extremely complex subject. The amount of time for which forecasts are made can vary greatly, from simply working out the liability for the coming year to working out the total pension liability if every current member of staff continued being employed at the company until they retired. In many countries, there are standard systems to make sure all companies work out their liabilities in the same way.

Depending on local accounting laws, some or all of a firm's liabilities must appear on its balance sheet. This can often mean an otherwise healthy company appears deeply in debt. In some situations, a company can even find itself technically insolvent and have to take measures to fix this.

The term pension liability can also be applied loosely to government spending. In this instance it refers to the Social Security or state pension payments which the government must pay to retirees. With the proportion of retirees to taxpayers rising, some governments are finding they must either raise taxes or cut pension payments to make the books balance.

Share
SmartCapitalMind is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
John Lister
By John Lister
John Lister, an experienced freelance writer, excels in crafting compelling copy, web content, articles, and more. With a relevant degree, John brings a keen eye for detail, a strong understanding of content strategy, and an ability to adapt to different writing styles and formats to ensure that his work meets the highest standards.
Discussion Comments
By anon228626 — On Nov 09, 2011

I am a supermarket business owner in new York. My union recently closed my pension plan for my employees and myself and opened an annuity. I now get a letter stating I owe an exorbitant amount of money due to pension liability withdrawal.

I can see see how I funded the pension plan for years the union invested the money poorly and how I have to fund it again and continue funding the new annuity. Any help with this dilemma would be appreciated.

John Lister
John Lister
John Lister, an experienced freelance writer, excels in crafting compelling copy, web content, articles, and more. With...
Learn more
Share
https://www.smartcapitalmind.com/what-is-pension-liability.htm
Copy this link
SmartCapitalMind, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

SmartCapitalMind, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.