Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2021

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Defined Benefit Plans

We provide benefits to certain employees under various defined benefit and postretirement benefit plans (collectively, the “Plans”). The Plans were previously amended to preclude new participants. All but one of the Plans are unfunded.

Information for the Plans

	As of October 31,
(in millions)	2021		2020
Net obligations	$	7.5	$	9.6
Projected benefit obligations(1)	15.9		17.0
Fair value of assets	8.4		7.4

(1) At October 31, 2021, total projected benefit obligations related to unfunded plans was $8.2 million. At October 31, 2020, all plans were either unfunded or underfunded.

At October 31, 2021, assets of the Plans were invested 30% in equities and 70% in fixed income. The expected return on assets was $0.3 million in 2021 and $0.4 million in 2020 and 2019. The aggregate net periodic benefit cost for all Plans was $0.3 million, $0.2 million, and $0.6 million for 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. Future benefit payments in the aggregate are expected to be $13.5 million.

Deferred Compensation Plans

We maintain deferred compensation plans that permit eligible employees and directors to defer a portion of their compensation. At October 31, 2021 and 2020, the total liability of all deferred compensation was $32.1 million (including $18.0 million assumed from the Able Acquisition) and $13.6 million, respectively, and these amounts are included in “Other accrued liabilities” and “Other noncurrent liabilities” on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Under one of our deferred compensation plans, a Rabbi trust was created to fund the obligations, and we are required to contribute a portion of the deferred compensation contributions for eligible participants. The assets held in the Rabbi trust are not available for general corporate purposes. At October 31, 2021 and 2020, the fair value of these assets was $4.9 million and $2.6 million, respectively, and these amounts are included in “Other noncurrent assets” on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Aggregate expense recognized under these deferred compensation plans was $0.2 million, $0.2 million, and $0.3 million for 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.

Defined Contribution Plans

We sponsor four defined contribution plans covering certain employees that are subject to the applicable provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”). Certain plans permit a company match of a portion of the participant’s contributions or a discretionary contribution after the participant has met the eligibility requirements set forth in the plan. During 2021, 2020, and 2019, we made matching contributions required by the plans of $21.6 million, $18.2 million, and $24.3 million, respectively.

Multiemployer Pension and Postretirement Plans

We participate in various multiemployer pension plans under union and industry-wide agreements that provide defined pension benefits to employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. Because of the nature of multiemployer plans, there are risks associated with participation in these plans that differ from single-employer plans. Assets contributed by an employer to a multiemployer plan are not segregated into a separate account and are not restricted to provide benefits only to employees of that contributing employer. In the event another participating employer in a multiemployer plan no longer contributes to the plan, the unfunded obligations of the plan may be borne by the remaining participating employers, including us. In the event of the termination of a multiemployer pension plan or a withdrawal from a multiemployer pension plan, we could incur material liabilities under applicable law.

Key Information for Individually Significant Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plans(1)

($ in millions)

Pension Protection Act Zone Status(3)

FIP/RP Status(4)

Contributions by ABM

Surcharge Imposed(5)

Expiration Dates of Collective Bargaining Agreements

Pension Fund

EIN/PN(2)

2021

2020

Pending/ Implemented

2021

2020

2019

Building Service 32BJ Pension Fund

13-1879376 / 001

Red 6/30/2020

Red 6/30/2019

Implemented

$

18.8

$

16.8

$

19.3

No

10/15/2023 – 12/31/2023

S.E.I.U. National Industry Pension Fund

52-6148540 / 001

Red 12/31/2020

Red 12/31/2019

Implemented

10.9

11.1

10.6

Yes

7/31/2022 – 10/31/2023

IUOE Stationary Engineers Local 39 Pension Plan

94-6118939 / 001

Green 12/31/2020

Green 12/31/2019

N/A*

6.6

4.3

4.6

N/A*

8/31/2023 – 10/31/2024

Central Pension Fund of the IUOE & Participating Employers

36-6052390 / 001

Green 1/31/2021

Green 1/31/2020

N/A*

5.3

7.1

11.7

N/A*

12/31/2022

SEIU Local 1 & Participating Employers Pension Trust

36-6486542 / 001

Green 9/30/2020

Green 9/30/2019

N/A*

3.9

4.3

5.1

N/A*

4/7/2024

Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan

91-6145047 / 001

Green 12/31/2020

Green 12/31/2019

N/A*

2.0

2.5

3.1

N/A*

12/31/2021 – 11/30/2022

All Other Plans:

9.3

9.5

12.2

Total Contributions(6)

$

56.8

$

55.5

$

66.6

*Not applicable

(1) To determine individually significant plans, we evaluated several factors, including our total contributions to the plan, our significance to the plan in terms of participating employees and contributions, and the funded status of the plan.

(2) The “EIN/PN” column provides the Employer Identification Number and the three-digit plan number assigned to the plan by the IRS.

(3) The Pension Protection Act Zone Status columns provide the two most recently available Pension Protection Act zone statuses from each plan. The zone status is based on information provided to us and other participating employers and is certified by each plan’s actuary. Among other factors, plans in the red zone are generally less than 65% funded, plans in the yellow zone are less than 80% funded, and plans in the green zone are at least 80% funded.

(4) Indicates whether a Financial Improvement Plan (“FIP”) for yellow zone plans or a Rehabilitation Plan (“RP”) for red zone plans is pending or implemented.

(5) Indicates whether our contribution in 2021 included an amount as imposed by a plan in the red zone in addition to the contribution rate specified in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

(6) The total contributions for fiscal year 2021 includes $4.6 million contributed by Able since the acquisition.

Multiemployer Pension Plans for which ABM is a Significant Contributor

Pension Fund	Contributions to the plan exceeded more than 5% of total contributions per most currently available Forms 5500 (as of the plan’s year end)
Arizona Sheet Metal Pension Trust Fund*	6/30/2020, 6/30/2019 and 6/30/2018
Building Service 32BJ Pension Fund	6/30/2020, 6/30/2019, and 6/30/2018
Building Service Pension Plan*	4/30/2020, 4/30/2019, and 4/30/2018
Contract Cleaners Service Employees’ Pension Plan*	12/31/20, 12/31/2019, and 12/31/2018
Firemen & Oilers Pension Plan of SEIU Local 1*	7/31/2020, 7/31/2019, and 7/31/2018
IUOE Stationary Engineers Local 39 Pension Trust Fund	12/31/2020, 12/13/2019, and 12/31/2018
Massachusetts Service Employees Pension Plan*	12/31/2020, 12/31/2019, and 12/31/2018
SEIU Local 1 & Participating Employers Pension Trust	9/30/2020, 9/30/2019, and 9/30/2018
S.E.I.U. National Industry Pension Fund	12/31/2020, 12/31/2019, and 12/31/2018
Service Employees International Union Local 1 Cleveland Pension Plan*	12/31/2020, 12/31/2019, and 12/31/2018
Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, District 36 Building Operators Pension Trust Fund*	12/31/2020, 12/31/2019, and 12/31/2018
Teamsters Local 617 Pension Fund*	2/28/2021, 2/29/2020, and 2/28/2019
Teamsters Local Union No. 727 Pension Plan*	2/28/2021, 2/29/2020, and 2/28/2019

* These plans are not separately listed in our multiemployer table as they represent an insignificant portion of our total multiemployer pension plan contributions.

Multiemployer Defined Contribution Plans

In addition to contributions noted above, we also make contributions to multiemployer defined contribution plans. During 2021, 2020, and 2019, our contributions to the defined contribution plans were $21.2 million, $15.5 million, and $9.0 million, respectively.

Other Multiemployer Benefit Plans

We also contribute to several multiemployer postretirement health and welfare plans based on obligations arising under collective bargaining agreements covering union-represented employees. These plans may provide medical, pharmacy, dental, vision, mental health, and other benefits to employees as determined by the trustees of each plan. The majority of our contributions benefit active employees and, as such, may not constitute contributions to a postretirement benefit plan. However, since we are unable to separate contribution amounts to postretirement benefit plans from contribution amounts paid to benefit active employees, we categorize all such amounts as contributions to postretirement benefit plans. During 2021, 2020, and 2019, our contributions to such plans were $270.8 million, $264.8 million, and $269.8 million, respectively. There have been no significant changes that affect the comparability of total contributions for any of the periods presented.