During the first quarter of fiscal year 2002, the Company established a defined benefit pension plan for all permanent employees of Jabil Circuit UK Limited. This plan was established in accordance with the terms of the business sale agreement with Marconi Communications plc ("Marconi"). The benefit obligations and plan assets from the terminated Marconi plan were transferred to the newly established defined benefit plan. The plan, which is closed to new participants, provides benefits based on average employee earnings over a three-year service period preceding retirement. The Company's policy is to contribute amounts sufficient to meet minimum funding requirements as set forth in U.K. employee benefit and tax laws plus such additional amounts as are deemed appropriate by the Company. Plan assets are held in trust and consist of equity and debt securities as detailed below.

As a result of acquiring various operations in Austria, France, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, Poland, and Taiwan, the Company assumed primarily unfunded retirement benefits to be paid based upon years of service and compensation at retirement. All permanent employees meeting the minimum service requirement are eligible to participate in the plans.

There is no domestic pension or post-retirement benefit plan maintained by the Company.

The Company is required to recognize the overfunded or underfunded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan as an asset or liability in its statement of financial position, and to recognize changes in that funded status in the year in which the changes occur through comprehensive income.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the change in the benefit obligations for the plans described above for fiscal years 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):

Weighted-average actuarial assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations for the plans for fiscal years 2011 and 2010 were as follows:

The Company evaluates these assumptions on a regular basis taking into consideration current market conditions and historical market data. The discount rate is used to state expected future cash flows at a present value on the measurement date. This rate represents the market rate for high-quality fixed income investments. A lower discount rate would increase the present value of benefit obligations. Other assumptions include demographic factors such as retirement, mortality and turnover.

The Company has adopted an investment policy for a majority of plan assets which was set by plan trustees who have the responsibility for making investment decisions related to the plan assets. The plan trustees oversee the investment allocation, including selecting professional investment managers and setting strategic targets. The investment objectives for the assets are (1) to acquire suitable assets that hold the appropriate liquidity in order to generate income and capital growth that, along with new contributions, will meet the cost of current and future benefits under the plan, (2) to limit the risk of the plan assets from failing to meet the plan liabilities over the long-term and (3) to minimize the long-term costs under the plan by maximizing the return on the plan assets.

Investment policies and strategies governing the assets of the plans are designed to achieve investment objectives with prudent risk parameters. Risk management practices include the use of external investment managers; the maintenance of a portfolio diversified by asset class, investment approach and security holdings; and the maintenance of sufficient liquidity to meet benefit obligations as they come due. Within the equity securities class, the investment policy provides for investments in a broad range of publicly traded securities including both domestic and international stocks. The plan does not hold any of the Company's stock. Within the debt securities class, the investment policy provides for investments in corporate bonds as well as fixed and variable interest debt instruments. The Company currently expects to achieve the target mix of 35% equity and 65% debt securities in fiscal year 2012.

The fair values of the plan assets held by the Company by asset category for fiscal years 2011 and 2010 are as follows (in thousands):


						Fair Value Measurements Using Inputs Considered as:
	Fair Value at August 31, 2011		Asset Allocation			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Asset Category

Cash and cash equivalents	$	4,267		4	%	$	4,267	$	—		—

Equity Securities:
U.K. equity securities^(a)		12,130		12	%		—		12,130		—
Global equity securities^(b)		11,933		12	%		—		11,933		—

Debt Securities:
U.K. government bonds^(c)		32,125		32	%		—		32,125		—
U.K. corporate bonds⁽ ^c ⁾		27,146		28	%		—		27,146		—

Insurance Contracts:
Insurance contracts⁽ ^d ⁾		11,636		12	%		—		—		11,636


Fair value of plan assets	$	99,237		100	%	$	4,267	$	83,334	$	11,636


						Fair Value Measurements Using Inputs Considered as:
	Fair Value at August 31, 2010		Asset Allocation			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Asset Category

Cash and cash equivalents	$	3,663		5	%	$	3,663	$	—	$	—

Equity Securities:
U.K. equity securities^(a)		10,671		12	%		—	$	10,671		—
Global equity securities^(b)		10,400		12	%		—		10,400		—

Debt Securities:
U.K. government bonds^(c)		28,258		33	%		—		28,258		—
U.K. corporate bonds⁽ ^c ⁾		25,695		30	%		—		25,695		—

Insurance Contracts:
Insurance contracts⁽ ^d ⁾		6,884		8	%		—		—		6,884


Fair value of plan assets	$	85,571		100	%	$	3,663	$	75,024	$	6,884

⁽ ^a ⁾

U.K. equity securities are categorized as Level 2 and include investments in a diversified portfolio that aims to capture the returns of the U.K. equity market. The index tracks the Financial Times (London) Stock Exchange ("FTSE") All-Share Index and invests only in U.K. securities.

^(b)	Global equity securities are categorized as Level 2 and include investments that aim to capture global equity market returns (excluding the U.K.) by tracking the FTSE AW-World (ex-UK) Index.

^(c)	U.K. government bonds are categorized as Level 2 and include U.K. government issued fixed income investments which are managed and tracked to the respective benchmark (FTSE U.K. Over 15 Years Gilts Index and FTSE U.K. Over 5 Years Index-Linked).

^(d)

The assets related to The Netherlands plan consist of an insurance contract that guarantees the payment of the funded pension entitlements, as well as provides a profit share to the Company. The profit share in this contract is not based on actual investments, but, instead on a notional investment portfolio that is expected to return a pre-defined rate. The fair value is determined based on the cash surrender value of the insured benefits which is the present value of the guaranteed funded benefits.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the changes in the pension plan assets for the year between measurement dates for fiscal years 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):

The following table provides a reconciliation of the funded status of the plans to the Consolidated Balance Sheets for fiscal years 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):

The following table provides the estimated amount that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic benefit cost in fiscal year 2012 (in thousands):

The accumulated benefit obligation for all defined benefit pension plans was $126.3 million and $121.6 million at August 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

The following table provides information for pension plans with an accumulated benefit obligation in excess of plan assets for fiscal years 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):

The following table provides information about net periodic benefit cost for the pension and other benefit plans for fiscal years 2011, 2010 and 2009 (in thousands):

Weighted-average actuarial assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for the plans for fiscal years 2011, 2010 and 2009 were as follows:

The expected return on plan assets assumption used in calculating net periodic pension cost is based on historical actual return experience and estimates of future long-term performance with consideration to the expected investment mix of the plan assets.

The Company expects to make cash contributions of between $3.5 million and $3.9 million to its funded pension plans during fiscal year 2012.

The estimated future benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are as follows (in thousands):

The Company provides retirement benefits to its domestic employees who have completed a 90-day period of service through a 401(k) plan that provides a matching contribution by the Company. Company contributions are at the discretion of the Company's Board of Directors. The Company also has defined contribution benefit plans for certain of its international employees primarily dictated by the custom of the regions in which it operates. In relation to these plans, the Company contributed approximately $23.1 million, $22.9 million, and $20.5 million for the fiscal years ended August 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.