Reference no: EM132678754

Gretta's Emporium Corp. provides its employees with a defined benefit pension plan. The plan assets and liabilities are shown below:

                                                December 31, 20X6              December 31, 20X5
Assets - market value          $1,371,000                               $1,595,000
Liabilities - actuarial value     $1,288,000                              $1,487,000

1. The discount rate used in the actuarial assumptions is 3%.
2. The plan actuary advised that the current service cost for the year was $187,200. This service cost is accrued at year end.
3. In 20X6, the pension plan made payments totalling $50,000 to retirees. The payments were made evenly throughout the year.
4. A plan improvement was made at the beginning of 20X6. The improvements were backdated for all members of the plan. The actuary estimated the cost at $18,000. Gretta's Emporium Corp. did not make a payment to fund the plan improvements.
5. On July 1, 20X6, Gretta's Emporium Corp. made a contribution of $34,000 to the defined benefit plan.
6. On December 31, 20X6, Gretta's Emporium Corp. sold one of its subsidiaries, and as a result, a group of employees was removed from the defined benefit plan. The actuary estimated that this change reduced the total defined benefit obligation by $400,000. As compensation, at the date of transfer, the pension plan trustee transferred $250,000 of the existing plan assets to the employees' new plan.

Required:

Problem a) Prepare reconciliation from the opening balances to the ending balances of the defined benefit obligation and plan assets for the year ended December 31, 20X6.

Problem b) Prepare summary journal entries for pension expense for the year.