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(1) | Post-employment obligations |
The Company has defined benefit and defined contribution plans. A defined benefit plan is a pension plan that defines an amount of pension benefit that an employee will receive on retirement, usually dependent on one or more factors such as age, years of service and compensation.
The liability recognized in the statement of financial position in respect of defined benefit pension plans is the present value of the defined benefit obligation at the end of the reporting period less the fair value of plan assets. The defined benefit obligation is calculated annually (at year end) by independent actuaries using the projected unit credit method. The present value of the defined benefit obligation is determined by discounting the estimated future cash outflows using interest rates of high-quality corporate bonds that are denominated in the currency in which the benefits will be paid, and that have terms to maturity approximating to the terms of the related pension obligation. In countries where there is no deep market in such bonds, the market rates on government bonds are used.
Actuarial gains and losses arising from experience adjustments and changes in actuarial assumptions are charged or credited to equity in other comprehensive income in the period in which they arise.
Past-service costs are recognized immediately in income.
For defined benefit plans, net interest income/expense is calculated based on the surplus or deficit derived by the difference between the defined benefit obligations less plan assets.
For defined contribution plans, the Company pays contributions to publicly or privately administered pension insurance plans on a mandatory, contractual or voluntary basis. The Company has no further payment obligations once the contributions have been paid. The contributions are recognized as employee benefit expense when they are due. Prepaid contributions are recognized as an asset to the extent that a cash refund or a reduction in the future payments is available.
Mexico
Ternium Mexico has defined benefit and defined contribution plans.
The valuation of the liabilities for the defined benefit employee retirement plans (pensions and seniority premiums) covers all employees and is based primarily on their years of service, their present age and their remuneration at the date of retirement. The cost of the employee retirement plans (pension, health-care expenses and seniority premiums) is recognized as an expense in the year in which services are rendered in accordance with actuarial studies made by independent actuaries. The formal retirement plans are congruent with and complementary to the retirement benefits established by the Mexican Institute of Social Security. Additionally, the Company has established a plan to cover health-care expenses of retired employees. The Company has established a commitment for the payment of pensions and seniority premiums, as well as for health-care expenses.
The defined contribution plans provide a benefit equivalent to the capital accumulated with the company's contributions, which are provided as a match of employees' contributions to the plan. The plan provides vested rights according to the years of service and the cause of retirement.
Argentina
Ternium Argentina implemented an unfunded defined benefit employee retirement plan for certain senior officers. The plan is designed to provide certain benefits to those officers (additional to those contemplated under applicable Argentine labor laws) in case of termination of the employment relationship due to certain specified events, including retirement. This unfunded plan provides defined benefits based on years of service and final average salary.
Termination benefits are payable when employment is terminated before the normal retirement date, or whenever an employee accepts voluntary redundancy in exchange for these benefits. The Company recognizes termination benefits when it is demonstrably committed to either: (i) terminating the employment of current employees according to a detailed formal plan without possibility of withdrawal or (ii) providing termination benefits as a result of an offer made to encourage voluntary redundancy.
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(3) | Other compensation obligations |
Employee entitlements to annual leave and long-service leave are accrued as earned.
During 2007, Ternium launched an incentive retention program (the "Program") applicable to certain senior officers and employees of the Company, who will be granted a number of Units throughout the duration of the Program. The value of each of these Units is based on Ternium's shareholders' equity (excluding non-controlling interest). Also, the beneficiaries of the Program are entitled to receive cash amounts based on (i) the amount of dividend payments made by Ternium to its shareholders, and (ii) the number of Units held by each beneficiary to the Program. Units vest ratably over a period of four years and will be redeemed by the Company ten years after grant date, with the option of an early redemption at seven years after grant date. As the cash payment of the benefit is tied to the book value of the shares, and not to their market value, Ternium valued this long-term incentive program as a long term benefit plan as classified in IAS 19.
As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the outstanding liability corresponding to the Program amounts to USD 30.8 million and USD 23.4 million, respectively. The total value of the units granted to date under the program, considering the number of units and the book value per share as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, is USD 30.3 million and USD 24.1 million, respectively.
Under Mexican law, Ternium's subsidiaries are required to pay their employees an annual benefit which is determined as a percentage of taxable profit for the year.
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(4) | Social security contributions |
Social security laws in force in the countries in which the Company operates provide for pension benefits to be paid to retired employees from government pension plans and/or private fund managed plans to which employees may elect to contribute. As stipulated by the respective laws, Ternium Argentina and Ternium Mexico make monthly contributions calculated based on each employee's salary to fund such plans. The related amounts are expensed as incurred. No additional liabilities exist once the contributions are paid
