Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Nov. 30, 2024

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Benefit Plans

Note 16. Benefit Plans

U.S. Pension Plans

Pursuant to the agreement to sell one of our former subsidiaries,

WilTel Communications Group, LLC (“WilTel”), the responsibility

for WilTel’s defined benefit pension plan was retained by us. All

benefits under this plan were frozen as of October 30,

2005. Jefferies Group LLC Employees’ Pension Plan (the “U.S.

Pension Plan”) is a defined benefit pension plan covering certain

employees; benefits under that plan were frozen as of December

31, 2005. We contributed $3.5 million to the WilTel plan during

the year ended November 30, 2024. We did not contribute to the

U.S. Pension Plan during the year ended November 30, 2024 and

we do not anticipate making a contribution to the plan for the

year ending November 30, 2025.

Activity with respect to both plans:

	Year Ended November 30,
$ in thousands	2024	2023
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation, beginning of year .......	$163,870	$172,066
Interest cost ..................................................................	7,986	7,981
Actuarial (gains) losses ..............................................	3,455	(5,289)
Settlements ...................................................................	—	—
Benefits paid .................................................................	(12,238)	(10,888)
Projected benefit obligation, end of year ................	$163,073	$163,870
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets, beginning of year .............	$141,177	$147,272
Actual return on plan assets .......................................	18,980	6,094
Employer contributions ...............................................	3,530	1,000
Benefits paid .................................................................	(12,238)	(10,888)
Settlements ...................................................................	—	—
Administrative expenses paid ....................................	(1,778)	(2,301)
Fair value of plan assets, end of year .......................	$149,671	$141,177
Funded status at end of year .....................................	$(13,402)	$(22,693)

As of November 30, 2024 and 2023, $28.6 million and

$37.0 million, respectively, of the net amount recognized in the

Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition was reflected as

a charge to Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

(substantially all of which were cumulative losses) and

$13.4 million and $22.7 million, respectively, was reflected as

accrued pension cost.

Components of net periodic pension cost and other amounts

recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) excluding

taxes:

	Year Ended November 30,
$ in thousands	2024	2023	2022
Interest cost .....................................	$7,986	$7,981	$5,805
Expected return on plan assets .....	(5,796)	(6,411)	(7,311)
Amortization of net losses .............	291	—	—
Settlement losses ............................	—	370	833
Actuarial losses ...............................	193	413	3,348
Net periodic pension cost ..............	$2,674	$2,353	$2,675
Amounts recognized in other comprehensive income (loss):
Net (gains) losses arising during the period ..........................................	$(7,951)	$(2,670)	$(211)
Settlement losses ............................	—	—	(833)
Amortization of net losses .............	(485)	782	(3,348)
Total recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) ......	$(8,436)	$(1,888)	$(4,392)
Net amount recognized in net periodic benefit cost and other   comprehensive income (loss) ....	$(5,762)	$465	$(1,717)

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at

November 30, 2024 and 2023 have not yet been recognized as

components of net periodic pension cost in the Consolidated

Statements of Earnings.

Assumptions:

	November 30,
	2024	2023
WilTel Plan
Discount rate used to determine benefit obligation	5.10%	5.30%
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net pension cost:
Discount rate .........................................................	5.30%	4.90%
Expected long-term return on plan assets ........	6.00%	6.00%
U.S. Pension Plan
Discount rate used to determine benefit obligation	4.90%	5.20%
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net pension cost:
Discount rate .........................................................	5.20%	4.80%
Expected long-term return on plan assets ........	5.00%	5.00%

Pension benefit payments expected to be paid (in thousands):

Fiscal Year:
2025 ............................................................................................................	$25,185
2026 ............................................................................................................	13,357
2027 ............................................................................................................	13,563
2028 ............................................................................................................	13,100
2029 ............................................................................................................	13,339
Years 2030 - 2034 .....................................................................................	60,892

U.S. Plan Assets

The information below on the plan assets for the WilTel plan and

the U.S. Pension Plan is presented separately for the plans as the

investments are managed independently. 

WilTel Plan Assets 

The current investment objectives are designed to close the

funding gap while mitigating funded status volatility through a

combination of liability hedging and investment returns. As plan

funded status improves, the asset allocation will move along a

predetermined, de-risking glide path that reallocates capital from

growth assets to liability-hedging assets in order to reduce

funded status volatility and lock in funded status gains. Plan

assets are split into two separate portfolios, each with different

asset mixes and objectives. The portfolios are valued at their

NAV as a practical expedient for fair value.

•The Growth Portfolio consists of global equities and high yield

investments.

•The Liability-Driven Investing (“LDI”) Portfolio consists of long

duration credit bonds and a suite of long duration, Treasury-

based instruments designed to provide capital-efficient interest

rate exposure as well as target specific maturities. The

objective of the LDI Portfolio is to seek to achieve performance

similar to the WilTel plan’s liability by seeking to match the

interest rate sensitivity and credit sensitivity. The LDI Portfolio

is managed to mitigate volatility in funded status deriving from

changes in the discounted value of benefit obligations from

market movements in the interest rate and credit components

of the underlying discount curve.

U.S. Pension Plan Assets

We have an agreement with an external investment manager to

invest and manage the plan’s assets under a strategy using a

combination of two portfolios. The investment manager allocates

the plan’s assets between a growth portfolio and a liability-driven

portfolio according to certain target allocations and tolerance

bands that are agreed to by the Administrative Committee of the

U.S. Pension Plan. Such target allocations will take into

consideration the plan’s funded ratio. The manager will also

monitor the strategy and, as the plan’s funded ratio changes over

time, will rebalance the strategy, if necessary, to be within the

agreed tolerance bands and target allocations. The portfolios are

composed of certain common collective investment trusts that

are established and maintained by the investment manager. The

common collective trusts are valued at their NAV as a practical

expedient for fair value.

Plan Assumptions

To develop the assumption for the expected long-term rate of

return on plan assets, we considered the following underlying

assumptions: 2.5% current expected inflation, 0.0% to 1.5% real

rate of return for long duration risk free investments and an

additional 0.5% to 1.0% return premium for corporate credit risk.

For U.S. and international equity, we assume an equity risk

premium over risk-free assets equal to 4.3%. We then weighted

these assumptions based on invested assets and assumed that

investment expenses were offset by expected returns in excess

of benchmarks, which resulted in the selection of 6.0% and 5.0%

expected long-term rate of return assumption for WilTel and U.S.

Pension plan, respectively, for 2024.

Other

We have defined contribution pension plans, including 401(k)

plans, that cover certain employees. Amounts charged to

expense related to such plans were $13.6 million, $12.6 million

and $12.7 million for the years ended November 30, 2024, 2023

and 2022, respectively.