No PRB Cost Adjustment For Segment Closings

In related decisions filed on April 29, the Court of Federal Claims effectively precluded contractors from recovering any costs for unfunded post-retirement benefits (primarily retiree medical and life insurance) in connection with business segment closings, absent a specific contract provision promising to indemnify the contractor for the unfunded liability. In Raytheon v. U.S., the court held that benefits covered by so-called 401(h) subaccounts in the contractor's pension plan (a relatively uncommon situation) are not "pension benefits" and, therefore, are not subject to the segment-closing provisions of CAS 413; in Gen. Elec. Co. v. U.S., the court held that pay-as-you-go benefit plans covering retired employees and dependents (by far the more common situation) are not subject to the provisions of CAS 413 requiring "segment closing" adjustments for pension costs.