Ford Motor Co. will pump US$3.8 billion into its global pension plans this year as it tries to get them closer to fully funding their obligations. The carmaker said it will put $2 billion into the U.S. pension plan, make $350 million in benefits payments and put the remaining $1.45 billion into other plans across the globe. As of Dec. 31, 2011, the U.S. plan was $9.4 billion short of its obligations, while global plans—which include the U.S.—were short by $15.4 billion.
Ford also said it plans to rebalance pension assets in order to cut risk over the next several years, with the goal of placing 80% of its pension fund assets in bonds, from 45% previously. The remaining funds will be invested in growth assets such as hedge funds and real estate.
The company said that it expects the global funds to be fully funded during the next few years based on long-term investments and company contributions.
The U.S. plan was worth $39.4 billion at the end of last year, while plans outside the U.S. were worth $19.2 billion.