Note 24 - Pension

Defined benefit scheme
This pension scheme is administered by a pension fund conferring entitlement to specific future pension benefits from age 67. The schemes include children’s pension and disability pension under further rules. The Group’s defined benefit pension scheme assures the majority of employees a pension of 68 percent of final salary up to 12G. The defined benefit scheme is closed to new members.

It was decided to terminate the defined benefit scheme at a board meeting on 21 October 2016. Employees on this scheme will transfer to the defined contribution scheme as from 1 January 2017, and will receive a paid-up policy showing rights accumulated under the defined benefit scheme.  The termination resulted in reduced pension obligations, which has been treated  as a settlement gain and reduced the pension expense for 2016. 

Paid-up policies are managed by the pension fund, which becomes a paid-up pension fund as from 1 January 2017. A framework agreement has been established between SpareBank 1 SMN and the pension fund which covers funding, asset management etc. In view of the responsibility still held by SpareBank 1 SMN, future liabilities will need to be incorporated in the accounts.  At yearend 2017 the scheme is  overfunded by NOK  171 million. 

The board of the pension fund is required to be composed of representatives from the Group and participants in the pension schemes in accordance with the articles of association of the pension fund.  In addition to the pension obligations covered by the pension fund, the group has unfunded pension liabilities which can not be funded by the assets in the collective arrangements. The obligations entails  employees not  registered as member of the pension fund, additional  pensions above 12 G, early retirement pension schemes and  contractual early retirement schemes in new arrangement (AFP Subsidies Act).

For further details of the Group’s pension schemes see Note 2 on accounting principles and Note 22  on personnel expenses and emoluments to senior employees and elected officers.

The pension scheme arrangement is located in its own pension fund, which has a long-term horizon on the management of its capital. The pension fund seeks to achieve as high a rate of return as possible by composing an investment portfolio that provides the maximum risk-adjusted return. The pension fund seeks to spread its investments on various issuers and asset classes in order to reduce company-specific and market-specific risk. The portfolio thus comprises equity investments in Norwegian and foreign shares. The bond portfolio is essentially invested in Norwegian bonds. Bank deposits are placed in Norwegian Banks.