33. Provisions for post-employment benefits plans and similar obligations

Provisions for post-employment benefits plans are recognised in accordance with IAS 19 (employee benefits).

Provisions for post-employment benefits plans consist of commitments primarily related to benefits defined by the provisions of company pension plans. These take the form of defined benefit plans directly from the employer (employer’s commitments) and defined benefit plans from external providers (benevolent funds in Germany and international pension funds). The external providers’ assets serve exclusively to finance the pension entitlements and qualify as plan assets. The benefits under the different plans are based on performance and length of service.

The most important performance-based pension plans are described in the following.

Germany

METRO grants many employees in Germany retirement, disability and surviving dependant’s benefits. New commitments are granted in the form of ‘defined benefit’ commitments within the meaning of IAS 19 (contribution-oriented commitments pursuant to German company pension law), which comprise a payment contribution component and an employer-matching component. Contributions are paid to a pension reinsurance from which benefits are paid out when the insured event occurs. A provision is recognised for entitlements not covered by reinsurance.

In addition, various pension funds exist that are closed for new contributions. In general, these provide for lifelong pensions starting with the start of retirement or recognised invalidity. Benefits are largely defined as fixed payments or on the basis of set annual increases. In special cases, benefits are calculated in consideration of accrued statutory pension entitlements. The commitments provide for a widow’s or widower’s pension of varying size, depending on the benefits the former employee received or would have received in the case of invalidity. Legacy commitments are partially covered by assets held in benevolent funds. Provisions are recognised for those commitments not covered. The benevolent funds’ decision-making bodies (management board and general assembly of members) comprise both employer and employee representatives. The respective member of the management board decides on the deployment of funds and financial investments. It may commission third parties to manage fund assets. No statutory minimum endowment obligations exist. Insofar as pledged benefits cannot be paid out of the benevolent fund assets, the employer is obliged to directly assume these payments.

There are also deferred compensation contracts with the Hamburger Pensionskasse (Hamburg pension fund).

Netherlands

A defined benefit pension plan exists in the Netherlands which provides for pension payments in addition to invalidity and death benefits. The amount of the benefits depends on the pensionable salary per year of service. Benefits are funded through a pension fund whose decision-making bodies (management board, as well as administration, finance and investment committee) include employer and employee representatives. The fund’s executive committee is responsible for asset management. The pension fund’s investment committee exists for this purpose. In line with statutory minimum funding requirements, the pension fund’s executive committee must ensure that commitments are covered by assets at all times. In case of underfunding, the pension fund’s executive committee may take different measures to compensate for deficient cover. These measures include the requirement for additional contributions by the employer and curtailments in employee benefits.

United Kingdom

In July 2012, the former METRO GROUP sold its cash-and-carry business in the United Kingdom to Booker Group PLC. Pension commitments were not part of the sale. Since the date of the sale, only vested benefits and current pensions from service years at the former METRO GROUP have existed. In accordance with legal stipulations, the vested interests must be adjusted for inflation effects. The commitments are covered by assets which are managed and invested by a corporate trustee. A major share of these commitments was fully funded through a buy-in. The executive committee of this corporate trustee consists of employer and employee representatives. In any case, the trustee must ensure that benefits can be paid at all times in the future. This is regulated on the basis of statutory minimum financing requirements. In case of underfunding, the trustee may require additional employer contributions to close the funding gap.

Belgium

There are both retirement pensions and capital commitments; the amount depends on the pensionable length of service and pensionable income. In addition, groups of employees are granted interim allowances. In principle, benefits are funded through group insurance contracts that are subject to Belgian regulatory law.

Additional retirement plans are shown cumulatively under other countries.

The following table provides an overview of the present value of defined benefit obligations by METRO countries as well as material obligations:

The plan assets of METRO are distributed proportionally to the following countries:

The above commitments are valued on the basis of actuarial calculations in accordance with IAS 19. The basis for the valuation are the legal, economic and tax circumstances prevailing in each country.

The following average assumptions regarding the material parameters were used in the actuarial valuation:

As in previous years, METRO used generally recognised methods to determine the actuarial rate of interest. With these, the respective actuarial rate of interest based on the yield of investment grade corporate bonds is determined as of the closing date taking account of the currency and maturity of the underlying obligations. The actuarial rate of interest for the Eurozone and the UK is based on the results of a method applied in a uniform manner across the group. The interest rate for this is set on the basis of the returns of high-quality corporate bonds and the duration of commitments. In countries without a liquid market of suitable corporate bonds, the actuarial interest rate was determined on the basis of government bond yields.

Aside from the actuarial interest rate, the inflation rate represents another key actuarial parameter. In the process, the nominal rate of wage and salary increases was determined on the basis of expected inflation and a real rate of increase. In Germany, the rate of pension increases is derived directly from the inflation rate insofar as pension adjustments can be determined on the basis of the increase in the cost of living. In international companies, pension adjustments are also generally determined on the basis of the inflation rate.

The other parameters are not relevant for the measurement of pension obligations. The impact of changes in fluctuation and mortality assumptions was analysed for major plans. Calculations of the mortality rate for the German group companies in financial year 2017/18 are based on the 2018 G tables from Prof. Dr Klaus Heubeck published in July 2018. The modified version, which was published in October 2018, was not applied.

The actuarial valuations outside of Germany are based on country-specific mortality tables. The resulting effects of fluctuation and mortality assumptions have been deemed immaterial and are not listed as a separate component.

The following is a sensitivity analysis for the key valuation parameters with respect to the present value of pension entitlements. The actuarial rate of interest and the inflation rate were identified as key parameters with an impact on the present value of pension entitlements. The sensitivity analysis used the same methods as were applied in the previous year. The analysis considered changes in parameters that are considered possible within reason. Stress tests or worst-case scenarios, in contrast, are not part of the sensitivity analysis. The selection of the respective spectrum of possible changes in parameters is based on historical multi-year observations. This almost exclusive reliance on historical data to derive possible future developments represents a methodological constraint.

The following illustrates the impact of an increase/decrease in the actuarial rate of interest by 100 basis points or an increase/decrease in the inflation rate by 25 basis points:

The granting of defined benefit pension entitlements exposes METRO to various risks. These include general actuarial risks resulting from the valuation of pension commitments (for example, interest rate risks) as well as capital and investment risks related to plan assets.

With a view to the funding of future pension payments from indirect commitments and a stable actuarial reserve, METRO primarily invests plan assets in low-risk investment forms. The funding of direct pension commitments is secured through operating cash flow at METRO.

The fair value of plan assets by asset category can be broken down as follows:

Fixed-interest securities, shares and funds are regularly traded in active markets. As a result, the relevant market prices are available. The asset category ‘fixed-interest securities’ only includes investments in investment grade corporate bonds, government bonds and mortgage-backed bonds (Pfandbriefe). Risk within the category ‘shares, funds’ is minimised through geographic diversification.

The majority of real estate assets are invested in real estate funds.

Other assets essentially comprise receivables from insurance companies in Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom. All of these are first-rate insurance companies. Additionally, an initial deposit into the plan assets in the amount of €15 million was paid for the purpose of a collective life insurance contract in France.

The actual return on plan assets amounted to €45 million in the reporting period (2016/17: €16 million).

For financial year 2018/19, the company expects employer payments to external pension providers totalling approximately €17 million and employee contributions of €10 million in plan assets, with contributions in the Netherlands and Germany accounting for the major share of this total. Expected contributions from payment contribution commitments in Germany are not included in expected payments.

Changes in the present value have developed as follows:

In Germany, the reclassification to assets held for sale in connection with the disposal of the hypermarket business resulted in a reduction of the present value of defined benefit obligations in the amount of €55 million.

The change to the 2018 G life expectancy tables in Germany resulted in the obligations increasing by €4 million. Due to the subsequent modification of the tables in October 2018, a slight inverse effect is expected in the next year.

A project to settle marginal pension entitlements in the United Kingdom resulted in settlement payments in the total amount of €6 million. The profit from the severance payment was €0 million.

Changes in parameters on the basis of actuarial calculations led to a total decrease in the present value of defined benefit obligations of €24 million (2016/17: €−137 million).

The weighted average term of defined benefit commitments for the countries with material pension obligations amounts to:

The present value of defined benefit obligations can be broken down as follows based on individual groups of eligible employees:

The fair value of plan assets developed as follows:

In Germany, the reclassification to assets held for sale in connection with the disposal of the hypermarket business resulted in a reduction of the plan assets by €16 million.

At one Dutch company, plan assets exceeded the value of commitments as of the closing date. Since the company cannot draw any economic benefits from this overfunding, the balance sheet amount was reduced to €0 in line with IAS 19.64 (b).

The change in the effect of the asset ceiling in the amount of €46 million was largely recognised in other comprehensive income as a loss from remeasuring (2016/17: €36 million).

The pension expenses of the direct and indirect company pension plan commitments can be broken down as follows:

The entire profits to be recognised outside of profit or loss in other comprehensive income amount to €17 million in financial year 2017/18. This figure is comprised of the effect from the change in actuarial parameters in the amount of €24 million, experience-based adjustments of €15 million and income from plan assets in the amount of €24 million. It was offset by losses of €−46 million resulting from the changed effect of the asset ceiling in the Netherlands.

In addition to expenses from defined benefit pension commitments, expenses for payments to external pension providers relating to defined contribution pension commitments of €82 million were recorded in financial year 2017/18 (2016/17: €78 million). These figures also include payments to statutory pension insurance.

The provisions for obligations similar to pensions essentially comprise commitments from employment anniversary allowances, death benefits and partial retirement plans. Provisions amounting to €41 million (30/9/2017: €52 million) were formed for these commitments. The commitments are valued on the basis of actuarial expert opinions. In principle, the parameters used are identical to those employed in the company pension plan.