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Retirement Plans
 12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Retirement Plans Retirement Plans
Pensions and Postretirement Plans
The Company has several defined benefit pension plans covering employees in the U.S. and certain employees in other countries, which are included in the information below. The plans provide retirement benefits based on years of service and earnings. The Company also sponsors or participates in a number of other non-U.S. pension and postretirement arrangements, including various retirement and termination benefit plans, some of which are required by local law or coordinated with government-sponsored plans, which are not significant in the aggregate and, therefore, are not included in the information presented below.
The Company initiated the wind-up of its Canadian defined benefit pension plan (“Canada Plan”) in June 2021. On September 1, 2021, Edgewell Personal Care Canada ULC (“EPC Canada”) as administrator of the Canada Plan entered into a buy-in annuity purchase agreement (“Buy-in Agreement”) with Brookfield Annuity Company (“Brookfield Annuity”) for certain members of the Canada Plan. On January 25, 2023, the Company received approval by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario to wind-up the Canada Plan. Upon regulatory approval of the Canada Plan, EPC Canada proceeded with purchasing annuities for the remaining Canada Plan participants and converting the Buy-in Agreement to a buy-out annuity purchase agreement (“Buy-out Agreement”), which was purchased and funded by the Canada Plan on March 31, 2023. The Company was relieved of its defined benefit pension obligation through its irrevocable commitment under the Buy-out Agreement. As of the settlement date, the Company remeasured its assets and its projected benefit obligation associated with the Canada Plan. Upon settlement, the Company derecognized the assets, projected benefit obligation and losses remaining in accumulated other comprehensive loss (“AOCI”) associated with the Canada Plan, which resulted in a loss on settlement of $7.9. The loss was recorded in Other expense (income), net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings and Comprehensive Income for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.
The Company funds its pension plans in compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) or local funding requirements.
The following tables present the benefit obligation, plan assets, and funded status of the plans:
 As of September 30,
 PensionPostretirement
 2023202220232022
Change in projected benefit obligation  
Benefit obligation at beginning of year$439.4 $618.7 $4.1 $5.5 
Service cost 1.9 3.8 — — 
Interest cost20.6 10.2 0.2 0.2 
Actuarial gain(12.9)(141.1)(0.1)(0.9)
Benefits paid, net(29.6)(26.4)(0.3)(0.3)
Plan settlements(21.9)(4.3)— — 
Expenses paid— — — — 
Foreign currency exchange rate changes7.4 (21.5)— (0.4)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year404.9 439.4 3.9 4.1 
Change in plan assets
Estimated fair value of plan assets at beginning of year398.2 570.5 — — 
Actual return on plan assets8.9 (121.0)— — 
Company contributions0.9 0.9 0.3 0.3 
Plan settlements(21.9)(4.3)— — 
Benefits paid(29.6)(26.4)(0.3)(0.3)
Expenses paid— — — — 
Foreign currency exchange rate changes8.2 (21.5)— — 
Divestiture(0.8)— — — 
Estimated fair value of plan assets at end of year363.9 398.2 — — 
Funded status at end of year$(41.0)$(41.2)$(3.9)$(4.1)
The following table presents the amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity:
 As of September 30,
 PensionPostretirement
 2023202220232022
Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets  
Noncurrent assets$13.5 $12.0 $— $— 
Current liabilities(1.0)(0.9)(0.2)(0.2)
Noncurrent liabilities(53.5)(52.3)(3.7)(3.9)
Net amount recognized$(41.0)$(41.2)$(3.9)$(4.1)
Amounts recognized in Accumulated other comprehensive loss
Net loss (gain)$119.3 $128.6 $(7.3)$(7.4)
Prior service credit— — — — 
Net amount recognized, pre-tax$119.3 $128.6 $(7.3)$(7.4)
 
Pre-tax changes recognized in Other comprehensive income for fiscal 2023 were as follows:
 PensionPost-
retirement
Changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in Other comprehensive income  
Net (gain) loss arising during the year$(0.5)$(0.1)
Effect of exchange rates0.8 (0.1)
Amounts recognized as a component of net periodic benefit cost
Amortization or settlement recognition of net (loss) gain(9.6)0.3 
Total recognized in Other comprehensive income$(9.3)$0.1 

Pension contributions required in fiscal 2024 and beyond represent future pension payments to comply with local funding requirements in the U.S. only. The projected contributions for the U.S. pension plans total $7.0 in fiscal 2024, $9.2 in fiscal 2025, $10.4 in fiscal 2026, $10.2 in fiscal 2027, and $10.1 in fiscal 2028. Estimated contributions beyond fiscal 2028 are not determinable. The Company may also elect to make discretionary contributions.
The Company’s expected future benefit payments are as follows:
 PensionPost-
retirement
Fiscal 2024
$33.3 $0.2 
Fiscal 2025
34.0 0.2 
Fiscal 2026
33.6 0.2 
Fiscal 2027
32.8 0.2 
Fiscal 2028
32.6 0.2 
Fiscal 2029 to 2032147.0 1.3 
The accumulated benefit obligation for defined benefit pension plans was $398.1 and $433.0 at September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The following table shows pension plans with an accumulated benefit obligation in excess of plan assets:
 As of September 30,
 20232022
Projected benefit obligation$309.1 $331.0 
Accumulated benefit obligation309.1 331.0 
Estimated fair value of plan assets254.6 277.8 

Pension plan assets in the U.S. plan represent approximately 70% of assets in all of the Company’s defined benefit pension plans. Investment policy for the U.S. plan includes a mandate to diversify assets and invest in a variety of asset classes to achieve that goal. The U.S. plan’s assets are currently invested in several funds representing most standard equity and debt security classes. The broad target allocations are: (a) equities, including U.S. and foreign: approximately 41% and (b) debt securities, including U.S. bonds: approximately 59%. Actual allocations at September 30, 2023 approximated these targets. The U.S. plan held no shares of Company common stock at September 30, 2023. Investment objectives are similar for non-U.S. pension arrangements, subject to local regulations.
The following table presents pension and post-retirement expense:
Fiscal Year
 PensionPostretirement
 202320222021202320222021
Service cost$1.9 $3.8 $4.4 $— $— $— 
Interest cost20.6 10.2 9.6 0.2 0.2 0.2 
Expected return on plan assets
(21.5)(21.1)(22.4)— — — 
Recognized net actuarial loss (gain)
1.7 6.4 9.5 (0.3)(0.3)(0.3)
Settlement loss recognized7.9 1.8 — — — — 
Net periodic benefit cost (credit)10.6 1.1 1.1 (0.1)(0.1)(0.1)
The service cost component of the net periodic cost associated with the Company’s retirement plans is recorded to Cost of products sold and SG&A in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings and Comprehensive Income. The remaining net periodic cost is recorded to Other expense (income), net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings and Comprehensive Income.

The Company utilized the spot discount rate approach, which applies the specific spot rates along the yield curve used in the determination of the benefit obligations to the relevant cash flows.

The following table presents assumptions, which reflect weighted-averages for the component plans, used in determining the above information:
 Fiscal Year
 PensionPostretirement
 202320222021202320222021
Plan obligations:  
Discount rate5.5 %5.1 %2.3 %5.6 %5.1 %3.5 %
Compensation increase rate2.5 %2.5 %2.5 %4.0 %4.0 N/A
Net periodic benefit cost:
Discount rate5.1 %2.3 %2.1 %5.1 %3.5 %2.8 %
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets4.9 %4.2 %4.5 %N/AN/AN/A
Compensation increase rate2.5 %2.5 %2.5 %4.0 %4.0 N/A
Cash balance interest credit rate4.2 %3.3 %1.9 %N/AN/AN/A
The expected return on plan assets was determined based on historical and expected future returns of the various asset classes, using the target allocations described above.
The following table sets forth the estimated fair value of the Company’s pension assets segregated by level within the estimated fair value hierarchy. Refer to Note 16 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion on the estimated fair value hierarchy and estimated fair value principles.
September 30, 2023
Pension assets at estimated fair valueLevel 1Level 2Total
Equity   
U.S. equity$22.7 $— $22.7 
International equity54.4 — 54.4 
Debt
U.S. government— — — 
Other government— — — 
Corporate54.9 — 54.9 
Cash and cash equivalents3.0 — 3.0 
Other— — — 
Total, excluding investments valued at net asset value (“NAV”)$135.0 $— $135.0 
Investments valued at NAV228.9 
Total$135.0 $— $363.9 
September 30, 2022
Pension assets at estimated fair valueLevel 1Level 2Total
Equity   
U.S. equity$49.1 $— $49.1 
International equity50.1 — 50.1 
Debt
U.S. government— 173.3 173.3 
Other government— — — 
Corporate47.4 — 47.4 
Cash and cash equivalents19.9 — 19.9 
Other13.8 — 13.8 
Total, excluding investments valued at NAV$180.3 $173.3 $353.6 
Investments valued at NAV44.6 
Total$180.3 $173.3 $398.2 

The following table sets forth the estimated fair value of the Company’s pension assets valued at NAV:
As of September 30,
20232022
Pension assets valued at NAV estimated at fair value
Equity
U.S. equity$48.9 $11.4 
International equity21.4 33.2 
Debt
U.S. government158.6$— 
Total investments valued at NAV$228.9 $44.6 
There were no Level 3 pension assets as of September 30, 2023 and 2022.
The Company had no post-retirement plan assets as of September 30, 2023 and 2022.
The Company’s investment objective for defined benefit retirement plan assets is to satisfy its current and future pension benefit obligations. The investment philosophy is to achieve this objective through diversification of the retirement plan assets with the goal of earning a suitable return with an appropriate level of risk while maintaining adequate liquidity to distribute benefit payments. The diversified asset allocation includes equity positions as well as fixed income investments. The increased volatility associated with equities is offset with higher expected returns, while long duration fixed income investments help dampen the volatility of the overall portfolio. Risk exposure is controlled by re-balancing the retirement plan assets back to target allocations, as needed. Investment firms managing retirement plan assets carry out investment policy within their stated guidelines. Investment performance is monitored against benchmark indices, which reflect the policy and target allocation of the retirement plan assets.

Defined Contribution Plan
The Company sponsors a defined contribution plan, which extends participation eligibility to the vast majority of U.S. employees. Effective January 1, 2014, the Company matches 100% of participants’ before-tax or Roth contributions up to 6% of eligible compensation. Amounts charged to expense during fiscal 2023, 2022, and 2021 were $11.3, $10.4, and $10.4, respectively, and are reflected in SG&A and Cost of products sold in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings and Comprehensive Income.