Periodic pension cost

[archived_user]

I am having a hard time reaching a clear definition for the periodic pension cost formula. According to the CFAI text , the formula is :
Ending funded status - Employer contributions - Beginning funded status.
and in Schweser notes , the formula is defined as:
employer contributions - (ending funded status - beginning funded status)
and what makes things more complicated is that I was seeking a friend’s help who claims that in Arif’s video , the formula is stated as follows:
ending funded status - beginning funded status + employer contributions
so can anyone help telling me which one is correct and why ?
Thanks

 

[archived_user]

1) = Ending funded status - Employer contributions - Beginning funded status
= (Ending Funded Status - Beginning Funded Status) - Employer Contributions
This is just rearranging the terms.
And this is the same as what Schweser has
2)= employer contributions - (ending funded status - beginning funded status)
===========
If Ending Funded Status=2000
Beginning Funded Status=1000
Employer Contribs=500
1) gives (2000-1000) - 500 = 500
2) gives 500 - (2000-1000) = -500
So the only difference I see there is that one formula gives a number - while the other gives the same number with an opposite sign.
I am not sure about Arif’s formula.
I seem to recall it was Change in Funded Status Less Employer Contributions [which is what both 1) and 2) are doing.]

 

[archived_user]

Thanks for the clarification , but what I still don’t understand is the sign interpretation in both formulas , would the positive sign imply that the company is bearing additional cost and the negative sign mean refunds for example , or the sign has no significance in calculating the periodic pension cost and we should only focus on the absolute value ?
thanks

 

[archived_user]

It has been a while and I don’t want to dig out my books but curriculum formula seems backward: a negative figure would indicate a cost. But then the label they use is “cost”. Kind of idiotic to say pension cost is -$1000 (most people would infer negative cost as an income).