Changes in provisions for employee benefits were as follows:
| Increases | Decreases | Other changes(6) | 31/12/2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions of euros) | 31/12/2020 | Operating (1) (4) | Financial (3) | Operating (2) (4) | Financial (5) | ||
| Provisions for post-employment benefits | 10,561 | 825 | 283 | (667) | (166) | (42) | 10,794 |
| Provisions for long-term benefits | 1,055 | 90 | 9 | (81) | - | - | 1,073 |
| PROVISIONS FOR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS | 11,616 | 915 | 292 | (748) | (166) | (42) | 11,867 |
(1) Including a past service cost of €581 million, amortisation of actuarial losses amounting to €326 million, and unvested benefits of €8 million.
(2) Including €(724) million for employers’ contributions and €(24) million for actuarial gains.
(3) See note 13.
(4) See notes 6 and 11.2.
(5) For the expected return on fund assets.
(6) Other changes consist of a €(42) million adjustment to provisions for post-employment benefits relating to prior years, resulting from a change in the benefit attribution method for retirement gratuity commitments (see note 1.1).
Details of changes in the provisions:
| (in millions of euros) | Obligations | Fund assets | Obligations net of fund assets | Unrecognised past service cost | Unrecognised actuarial gains and losses | Provision in the balance sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALANCE AT 31/12/2020 | BALANCE AT 31/12/2020Obligations32,418 | BALANCE AT 31/12/2020Fund assets(13,203) | BALANCE AT 31/12/2020Obligations net of fund assets19,214 | BALANCE AT 31/12/2020Unrecognised past service cost(19) | BALANCE AT 31/12/2020Unrecognised actuarial gains and losses(7,579) | BALANCE AT 31/12/2020Provision in the balance sheet11,616 |
| Net expense for 2021 |
Net expense for 2021 Obligations873 |
Net expense for 2021 Fund assets(166) |
Net expense for 2021 Obligations net of fund assets707 |
Net expense for 2021 Unrecognised past service cost8 |
Net expense for 2021 Unrecognised actuarial gains and losses302 |
Net expense for 2021 Provision in the balance sheet1,017 |
| Other changes * |
Other changes * Obligations(42) |
Other changes * Fund assets- |
Other changes * Obligations net of fund assets(42) |
Other changes * Unrecognised past service cost- |
Other changes * Unrecognised actuarial gains and losses- |
Other changes * Provision in the balance sheet(42) |
| Change in unrecognised actuarial gains and losses |
Change in unrecognised actuarial gains and losses Obligations149 |
Change in unrecognised actuarial gains and losses Fund assets(228) |
Change in unrecognised actuarial gains and losses Obligations net of fund assets(79) |
Change in unrecognised actuarial gains and losses Unrecognised past service cost- |
Change in unrecognised actuarial gains and losses Unrecognised actuarial gains and losses79 |
Change in unrecognised actuarial gains and losses Provision in the balance sheet- |
| Contributions to funds |
Contributions to funds Obligations- |
Contributions to funds Fund assets- |
Contributions to funds Obligations net of fund assets- |
Contributions to funds Unrecognised past service cost- |
Contributions to funds Unrecognised actuarial gains and losses- |
Contributions to funds Provision in the balance sheet- |
| Benefits paid |
Benefits paid Obligations(1,173) |
Benefits paid Fund assets449 |
Benefits paid Obligations net of fund assets(724) |
Benefits paid Unrecognised past service cost- |
Benefits paid Unrecognised actuarial gains and losses- |
Benefits paid Provision in the balance sheet(724) |
| BALANCE AT 31/12/2021 | BALANCE AT 31/12/2021Obligations32,225 | BALANCE AT 31/12/2021Fund assets(13,148) | BALANCE AT 31/12/2021Obligations net of fund assets19,076 | BALANCE AT 31/12/2021Unrecognised past service cost(11) | BALANCE AT 31/12/2021Unrecognised actuarial gains and losses(7,198) | BALANCE AT 31/12/2021Provision in the balance sheet11,867 |
*See note 30 (6).
The actuarial gains and losses on obligations generated over 2021 amount to €149 million, including €626 million resulting from the effect of revised assumptions, and €(477) million of gains due to experience adjustments.
Post-employment and long-term employee benefit expenses:
| (in millions of euros) | 31/12/2021 | 31/12/2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Current service cost (1) |
Current service cost (1)31/12/2021 581 |
Current service cost (1)31/12/2020 485 |
| Interest expenses (discount effect) (2) |
Interest expenses (discount effect) (2)31/12/2021 292 |
Interest expenses (discount effect) (2)31/12/2020 395 |
| Expected return on fund assets |
Expected return on fund assets 31/12/2021 (166) |
Expected return on fund assets 31/12/2020 (212) |
| Amortisation of unrecognised actuarial gains and losses - post-employment benefits |
Amortisation of unrecognised actuarial gains and losses - post-employment benefits 31/12/2021 221 |
Amortisation of unrecognised actuarial gains and losses - post-employment benefits 31/12/2020 185 |
| Change in actuarial gains and losses – long-term benefits |
Change in actuarial gains and losses – long-term benefits 31/12/2021 81 |
Change in actuarial gains and losses – long-term benefits 31/12/2020 94 |
| Effect of plan curtailment or settlement |
Effect of plan curtailment or settlement 31/12/2021 - |
Effect of plan curtailment or settlement 31/12/2020 - |
| Past service cost – vested benefits |
Past service cost – vested benefits 31/12/2021 - |
Past service cost – vested benefits 31/12/2020 - |
| Past service cost – unvested benefits |
Past service cost – unvested benefits 31/12/2021 8 |
Past service cost – unvested benefits 31/12/2020 10 |
| NET CHARGES RELATED TO POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND LONG-TERM BENEFITS |
NET CHARGES RELATED TO POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND LONG-TERM BENEFITS 31/12/2021 1,017 |
NET CHARGES RELATED TO POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND LONG-TERM BENEFITS 31/12/2020 957 |
| including: |
including: 31/12/2021
|
including: 31/12/2020
|
| Operating expenses (3) |
Operating expenses (3)31/12/2021 891 |
Operating expenses (3)31/12/2020 774 |
| Financial expenses |
Financial expenses 31/12/2021 126 |
Financial expenses 31/12/2020 183 |
(1) The higher past service cost compared to 2020 essentially results from the impact of changes in actuarial assumptions on obligations at 1 January 2021, due to the decrease in the discount rate (-0.4%).
(2) The interest expenses (discount effect) of €292 million are €103 million lower than at 31 December 2020, as a result of the decrease in the discount rate between 1 January 2020 (1.3%) and 1 January 2021 (0.9%).
(3) In 2021, this amount corresponds to operating increases of €915 million net of reversals for actuarial gains and losses (€24 million).
