Newell Rubbermaid to offer lump-sum pension benefits to 5,700 participants

Newell Rubbermaid Inc. will offer about 5,700 former vested employees not yet receiving pension benefits the opportunity to convert their future monthly annuity to a cash lump-sum benefit.

“This will reduce the size of the company's U.S. tax-qualified defined benefit pension plan obligation and related expenses," the Atlanta-based marketer of a wide range of consumer products, which include Paper Mate pens and Calphalon cookware, said in a filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The cash payments made to those opting for lump sums will come from pension plan assets and will not affect corporate cash flow, the company said.

At the end of last year, Newell Rubbermaid's U.S. pension plans were underfunded with $829.5 million in assets and $1.03 billion in liabilities, according to the company's 2013 10-K report.