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MULTI-EMPLOYER PENSION PLANS
12 Months Ended
Feb. 01, 2025
MULTI-EMPLOYER PENSION PLANS  
MULTI-EMPLOYER PENSION PLANS

15.

MULTI-EMPLOYER PENSION PLANS

The Company contributes to various multi-employer pension plans based on obligations arising from collective bargaining agreements. These multi-employer pension plans provide retirement benefits to participants based on their service to contributing employers. The benefits are paid from assets held in trust for that purpose. Trustees are appointed in equal number by employers and unions. The trustees typically are responsible for determining the level of benefits to be provided to participants as well as for such matters as the investment of the assets and the administration of the plans.

The Company recognizes expense in connection with these plans as contributions are funded or when commitments are probable and reasonably estimable, in accordance with GAAP.  The Company made cash contributions to these plans of $398 in 2024, $635 in 2023 and $620 in 2022. The decrease in 2024, compared to 2023 and 2022, is due to the fulfillment of contractually obligated payments related to the Company’s commitments established when restructuring the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union-Industry Variable Annuity Pension Plan agreement.

The Company continues to evaluate and address potential exposure to under-funded multi-employer pension plans as it relates to the Company’s associates who are beneficiaries of these plans.  These under-fundings are not a liability of the Company. When an opportunity arises that is economically feasible and beneficial to the Company and its associates, the Company may negotiate the restructuring of under-funded multi-employer pension plan obligations to help stabilize associates’ future benefits and become the fiduciary of the restructured multi-employer pension plan. The commitments from these restructurings do not change the Company’s debt profile as it relates to its credit rating since these off-balance sheet commitments are typically considered in the Company’s investment grade debt rating.

The Company is currently designated as the named fiduciary of the United Food and Commercial Workers (“UFCW”) Consolidated Pension Plan and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (“IBT”) Consolidated Pension Fund and has sole investment authority over these assets. Due to opportunities arising, the Company has restructured certain multi-employer pension plans. The significant effects of these restructuring agreements recorded in our Consolidated Financial Statements are:

In 2022, the Company incurred a $25 charge, $19 net of tax, for obligations related to withdrawal liabilities for certain multi-employer pension funds.

The risks of participating in multi-employer pension plans are different from the risks of participating in single-employer pension plans in the following respects:

Assets contributed to the multi-employer plan by one employer may be used to provide benefits to employees of other participating employers.

If a participating employer stops contributing to the plan, the unfunded obligations of the plan allocable to such withdrawing employer may be borne by the remaining participating employers.

If the Company stops participating in some of its multi-employer pension plans, the Company may be required to pay those plans an amount based on its allocable share of the unfunded vested benefits of the plan, referred to as a withdrawal liability.

The Company’s participation in multi-employer plans is outlined in the following tables. The EIN / Pension Plan Number column provides the Employer Identification Number (“EIN”) and the three-digit pension plan number. The most recent Pension Protection Act Zone Status available in 2024 and 2023 is for the plan’s year-end at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. Among other factors, generally, plans in the red zone are less than 65 percent funded, plans in the yellow zone are less than 80 percent funded and plans in the green zone are at least 80 percent funded. The FIP/RP Status Pending / Implemented Column indicates plans for which a funding improvement plan (“FIP”) or a rehabilitation plan (“RP”) is either pending or has been implemented. Unless otherwise noted, the information for these tables was obtained from the Forms 5500 filed for each plan’s year-end at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022. The multi-employer contributions listed in the table below are the Company’s multi-employer contributions made in fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022.

The following table contains information about the Company’s multi-employer pension plans:

   

    

   

    

   

    

   

FIP/RP

   

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

 

Pension Protection

Status

 

EIN / Pension

Act Zone Status

Pending/

Multi-Employer Contributions

Surcharge

 

Pension Fund

Plan Number

2024

2023

Implemented

2024

2023

2022

Imposed(4)

 

SO CA UFCW Unions & Food Employers Joint Pension Trust Fund(1)(2)

 

95-1939092 - 001

 

Yellow

 

Red

 

Implemented

$

84

$

83

$

84

 

No

Desert States Employers & UFCW Unions Pension Plan(1)

 

84-6277982 - 001

 

Green

 

Green

 

No

 

19

 

19

 

20

 

No

Sound Variable Annuity Pension Trust(1)

 

86-3278029 - 001

 

Green

 

Green

 

No

 

15

 

15

 

14

 

No

Rocky Mountain UFCW Unions and Employers Pension Plan(1)

 

84-6045986 - 001

 

Green

 

Green

 

No

 

27

 

27

 

27

 

No

Oregon Retail Employees Pension Plan(1)

 

93-6074377 - 001

 

Green

 

Green

 

No

 

11

 

10

 

9

 

No

Bakery and Confectionary Union & Industry International Pension Fund(1)

 

52-6118572 - 001

 

Red

 

Red

 

Implemented

 

8

 

7

 

7

 

No

Retail Food Employers & UFCW Local 711 Pension(1)

 

51-6031512 - 001

 

Red

 

Red

 

Implemented

 

11

 

11

 

11

 

No

UFCW International Union — Industry Variable Annuity Pension Plan(3)

 

51-6055922 - 001

 

Green

 

Green

 

No

 

33

 

263

 

282

 

No

Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan

 

91-6145047 - 001

 

Green

 

Green

 

No

 

44

 

39

 

40

 

No

Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Plan

 

36-6044243 - 001

 

Red

 

Red

 

Implemented

 

57

 

40

 

34

 

No

UFCW Consolidated Pension Plan(1) 

 

58-6101602 - 001

 

Green

 

Green

 

No

 

70

 

98

 

56

 

No

IBT Consolidated Pension Plan(1)(5)

82-2153627 - 001

N/A

N/A

No

7

7

No

Other

 

19

 

16

 

29

Total Contributions

$

398

$

635

$

620

(1)The Company's multi-employer contributions to these respective funds represent more than 5% of the total contributions received by the pension funds.
(2)The information for this fund was obtained from the Form 5500 filed for the plan's year-end at March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023.
(3)The information for this fund was obtained from the Form 5500 filed for the plan's year-end at June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2022.
(4)Under the Pension Protection Act, a surcharge may be imposed when employers make contributions under a collective bargaining agreement that is not in compliance with a rehabilitation plan. As of February 1, 2025, the collective bargaining agreements under which the Company was making contributions were in compliance with rehabilitation plans adopted by the applicable pension fund.
(5)The plan was formed after 2006, and therefore is not subject to zone status certifications.

The following table describes (a) the expiration date of the Company’s collective bargaining agreements and (b) the expiration date of the Company’s most significant collective bargaining agreements for each of the material multi-employer funds in which the Company participates:

Expiration Date

 

of Collective

Most Significant Collective

 

Bargaining

Bargaining Agreements(1)

 

Pension Fund

    

Agreements

    

Count

    

Expiration

 

SO CA UFCW Unions & Food Employers Joint Pension Trust Fund

 

March 2025 to June 2027

 

1

 

March 2025

UFCW Consolidated Pension Plan

 

July 2024(2) to March 2028

 

2

 

June 2026 to February 2027

Desert States Employers & UFCW Unions Pension Plan

 

June 2025 to March 2026

 

1

 

March 2026

Sound Variable Annuity Pension Trust

 

May 2025 to July 2028

 

4

 

May 2025

Rocky Mountain UFCW Unions and Employers Pension Plan

 

January 2025(2) to November 2025

 

1

 

January 2025(2)

Oregon Retail Employees Pension Plan

 

August 2027 to March 2029

 

2

 

August 2027 to July 2028

Bakery and Confectionary Union & Industry International Pension Fund

 

September 2025 to July 2027

 

3

 

May 2027 to June 2027

Retail Food Employers & UFCW Local 711 Pension

 

March 2025 to January 2027

 

1

 

March 2025

UFCW International Union — Industry Variable Annuity Pension Plan

 

July 2024(2) to October 2029

 

2

 

June 2026 to June 2027

Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan

 

April 2025 to September 2028

 

4

 

July 2025 to September 2025

IBT Consolidated Pension Plan

September 2027 to September 2029

3

September 2027 to September 2029

(1)This column represents the number of significant collective bargaining agreements and their expiration date for each of the Company’s pension funds listed above. For the purposes of this table, the “significant collective bargaining agreements” are the largest based on covered employees that, when aggregated, cover the majority of the employees for which we make multi-employer contributions for the referenced pension fund.
(2)Certain collective bargaining agreements are operating under an extension.

Based on the most recent information available to it, the Company believes the present value of actuarial accrued liabilities in most of these multi-employer plans exceeds the value of the assets held in trust to pay benefits.  Moreover, if the Company were to exit certain markets or otherwise cease making contributions to these funds, the Company could trigger a withdrawal liability.  Any adjustment for withdrawal liability will be recorded when it is probable that a liability exists and it can be reasonably estimated.

The Company also contributes to various other multi-employer benefit plans that provide health and welfare benefits to active and retired participants. Total contributions made by the Company to these other multi-employer health and welfare plans were approximately $1,228 in 2024, $1,182 in 2023 and $1,129 in 2022.