106 / 364
4.1 CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 7. Number of employees, personnel costs and employee benefits
DANONE
REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2015
106
Note 7.3. Retirement obligations and other long-term benefits
General principles
The Group contributes to employee retirement benefit plans in
accordance with the laws and usual practices of countries where its
subsidiaries operate. As a result of contributions paid under such
plans to private or state sponsored pension funds, the Group has
no actuarial liability in that respect.
The Group also has contractual obligations for supplementary
retirement plans, severance pay, retirement indemnities and per-
sonal protection plans. The related actuarial commitments are
taken into account either through the payment of contributions to
independently-managed funds responsible for their service and the
fund administration, or through provisions.
Accounting principles
Defined contribution retirement plans
Contributions due under defined contribution plans are expensed
as incurred. These expenses are allocated to different headings in
the consolidated income statement.
Defined benefit retirement plans
The Group's obligations relating to defined benefit retirement plans
are calculated using the projected unit credit method and by taking
into account several actuarial assumptions, including employee
turnover, salary increases and employees' expected active lives.
The carrying amounts of these plans on the consolidated balance
sheet correspond to the actuarial value of the obligations, as defined
above, less the fair value of the plan assets (retirement funds to which
the Group contributes, for example). They are presented under the
heading Provisions for retirement and other long-term benefits.
In addition, the expected return on plan assets is measured on the
basis of the discount rate used to estimate the actuarial value of
retirement commitments.
Actuarial gains and losses resulting from experience adjustments
and changes in the actuarial assumptions that are used to calculate
the obligations net of the assets (including the difference between
the expected return and the actual return on plan assets) are fully
recognized within Other comprehensive income.
The recognized costs and income of defined benefit plans corres-
pond mainly to:
•
the cost of services provided during the year and of prior services
(where relevant) recognized within Trading operating income;
•
the accretion of the present value of the obligations, net of the
expected return on plan assets, recognized within Other financial
income (expense).
Other long-term benefits
Other long-term benefits may be granted by certain Group compa-
nies to their employees, such as personal protection coverage and
long-service awards. The Group's obligations in respect of these
benefits are determined by applying a similar method to that used
to determine the obligations relating to post-employment defined
benefit plans.
The amounts recognized in the balance sheet in respect of these
plans correspond to the present value of the obligations, as detailed
above. They are presented under the heading Provisions for retire-
ment and other long-term benefits.
The actuarial gains and losses resulting from experience adjust-
ments and changes in the actuarial assumptions used to calculate
obligations are recognized in full within Trading operating income
of the fiscal year in which they are incurred.
Defined benefit plans
Provisions for retirement and other long-term benefits
As of December 31
(in € millions)
2014
2015
Defined benefit retirement plans
796
769
Other long-term benefits
21
25
Total
818
794