Pension and Retiree Medical Plans Our pension plans cover certain employees in the United States and certain international employees. Benefits
are determined based on either years of service or a combination of years of service and earnings. Certain
U.S. and Canada retirees are also eligible for medical and life insurance benefits (retiree medical) if they
meet age and service requirements. Generally, our share of retiree medical costs is capped at specified dollar
amounts, which vary based upon years of service, with retirees contributing the remainder of the cost. In
addition, we have been phasing out certain subsidies of retiree medical benefits.
In 2019, Plan A purchased a group annuity contract whereby a third-party insurance company assumed the
obligation to pay and administer future annuity payments for certain retirees. This transaction triggered a
pre-tax settlement charge in 2019 of $220 million ($170 million after-tax or $0.12 per share).
Also in 2019, certain former employees who had vested benefits in our U.S. defined benefit pension plans
were offered the option of receiving a one-time lump sum payment equal to the present value of the
participant’s pension benefit. This transaction triggered a pre-tax settlement charge in 2019 of $53 million
($41 million after-tax or $0.03 per share). Collectively, the group annuity contract and one-time lump sum
payments to certain former employees who had vested benefits resulted in settlement charges in 2019 of
$273 million ($211 million after-tax or $0.15 per share).
Effective January 1, 2017, the U.S. qualified defined benefit pension plans were reorganized into Plan A and
the PepsiCo Employees Retirement Plan I (Plan I) to facilitate a targeted investment strategy over time and
provide additional flexibility in evaluating opportunities to reduce risk and volatility. Actuarial gains and
losses associated with Plan A are amortized over the average remaining service life of the active participants,
while the actuarial gains and losses associated with Plan I are amortized over the remaining life expectancy
of the inactive participants. As a result of these changes, the pre-tax net periodic benefit cost decreased by
$42 million ($27 million after-tax, reflecting tax rates effective for the 2017 tax year, or $0.02 per share) in
2017, primarily impacting corporate unallocated expenses.
See “Items Affecting Comparability” and Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements.