2023 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT

K. Employee benefits and share-based payments

29. Provisions for employee benefits

At 31 December 2023, the part at more than one year of provisions for employee benefits broke down as follows:

(in € millions)	Note	31/12/2023	31/12/2022
Provisions for retirement benefit obligations	Provisions for retirement benefit obligations Note 29.1	Provisions for retirement benefit obligations 31/12/2023 1,089	Provisions for retirement benefit obligations 31/12/2022 1,064
Long-term employee benefits	Long-term employee benefits Note 29.2	Long-term employee benefits 31/12/2023 87	Long-term employee benefits 31/12/2022 86
Total provisions for employee benefits	Total provisions for employee benefitsNote	Total provisions for employee benefits31/12/20231,176	Total provisions for employee benefits31/12/20221,149

29.1 Provisions for retirement benefit obligations

Accounting policies

Provisions are taken on the liabilities side of the consolidated balance sheet for obligations connected with defined benefit retirement plans for both current and former employees (people who have retired and those with deferred rights). These provisions are determined using the projected unit credit method on the basis of actuarial valuations made at each annual balance sheet date. The actuarial assumptions used to determine the obligations vary depending on the economic conditions of the country or monetary zone in which the plan is operated. Each plan’s obligations are recognised separately. Under IAS 19, for defined benefit plans financed under external management arrangements (i.e. pension funds or insurance policies), the surplus or shortfall of the fair value of the assets compared with the present value of the obligations is recognised as an asset or liability in the consolidated balance sheet. That recognition is subject to asset ceiling rules and minimum funding requirements set out in IFRIC 14.

The expense recognised under operating income or loss in each period comprises the current service cost and the effects of any change, reduction or winding up of the plan. The accretion impact recognised on actuarial liabilities and interest income on plan assets are recognised under other financial income and expenses. Interest income from plan assets is calculated using the discount rate used to calculate obligations with respect to defined benefit plans.

The impacts of remeasuring net liabilities relating to defined benefit pension plans are recorded under other comprehensive income.

They comprise the following:

actuarial gains and losses on obligations resulting from changes in actuarial assumptions and from experience adjustments (the effects of differences between the actuarial assumptions adopted and that which has actually occurred);
plan asset outperformance/underperformance (i.e. the difference between the effective return on plan assets and the return calculated using the discount rate applied to the actuarial liability); and
changes in the asset ceiling effect.

At 31 December 2023, provisions for retirement benefit obligations comprised provisions for lump sums on retirement and provisions with respect to obligations for supplementary retirement benefits.

(in € millions)	31/12/2023	31/12/2022
At more than one year	At more than one year 31/12/2023 1,089	At more than one year 31/12/2022 1,064
At less than one year ^(*)	At less than one year ^()31/12/2023* 58	At less than one year ^()31/12/2022* 53
Total provisions for retirement benefit obligations	Total provisions for retirement benefit obligations31/12/20231,148	Total provisions for retirement benefit obligations31/12/20221,117

(*) The part of provisions for retirement benefit obligations that matures within less than one year is shown under “Other current liabilities”.

The VINCI Group’s main supplementary retirement benefit obligations relate to defined benefit plans, which have the following characteristics:

For French subsidiaries, these are contractual lump sums paid on retirement (generally based on a percentage of final salary, depending on the employee’s length of service and applicable collective agreements), supplementary defined benefit retirement plans of which some of the Group’s employees, retired employees and officers are members, and a specific obligation in respect of the former Vice-Chairman of VINCI SA’s Board of Directors. Some plans, of which several Group executives are members, are pre-financed through two insurance policies taken out with Cardif and one policy taken out with Allianz. These policies involve active management with reference to composite indices, and aim to achieve a good balance between the expected return on investments and the associated risks. Sufficient liquidity, in view of the timescale of plan liabilities, is maintained so that pensions and other one-off payments can be met. These plans are closed to new members.
To cover the liabilities of some UK and Swiss subsidiaries, plans are funded through independent pension funds.

In the UK, defined benefit plans for certain Group employees and former employees give rise to benefits that are mainly based on final salaries. They also provide benefits in the event of death and disability. These plans are closed to new members.

At 31 December 2023, 6,206 individuals, including 3,414 retirees, were covered by the plans in the United Kingdom. The average duration of the plans is 14 years.

The investment strategy for plan assets is defined by the trustees representing the pension funds. Contribution schedules and the plan’s level of funding are determined by the employer and the trustee, based on three-yearly actuarial valuations. Contribution schedules are intended to cover future service costs and any deficit arising from vested rights.