Problem 17-9 Determine pension expense; PBO; plan assets; net pension asset or liability; journal entries [LO17-3, 17-4, 17-5, 17-6 ,17-7 ,17-8] U.S. Metallurgical Inc. reported the following balances in its financial statements and disclosure notes at December 31, 2017. Plan assets $ 400,000 Projected benefit obligation 320,000 U.S.M.s actuary determined that 2018 service cost is $60,000. Both the expected and actual rate of return on plan assets are 9%. The interest (discount) rate is 5%. U.S.M. contributed $120,000 to the pension fund at the end of 2018, and retirees were paid $44,000 from plan assets. Required: 1 to 4. Determine the following amounts at the end of 2018. 5. Prepare journal entries to record the pension expense, funding of plan assets, and retiree benefit payments.

Require 1-4: 1. Pension Expense. 2 Projected benifit obligation. 3. Plan assets 4. Net pension asset or Net pension liability