# ASC 715-30-15: Compensation—Retirement Benefits — Defined Benefit Plans—Pension — 15 Scope and Scope Exceptions Source: FASB Accounting Standards Codification, Basic View [Read online](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/30/#15-scope-and-scope-exceptions) Study and research edition. Verify current requirements with the official source. Summaries, enrichment, and tags are machine-generated study aids. Paragraph html preserves source markup; snippet is abbreviated. Pending content is not necessarily effective. Tables and mathematical or amendment markup are retained as HTML where Markdown would lose structure. Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z to 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z Record version: sha256:da6f0070ee8e80dbeebe3fd972787ae00dec48eaf392ed8d2e74346ba489b923 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 715-30-15: 15 Scope and Scope Exceptions [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/30/#15-scope-and-scope-exceptions) SEC content: no #### Overall Guidance ##### [715-30-15-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/30/#715-30-15-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z to 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z Record version: sha256:8be4377d85c30e44dc7f20605b11a7fb5c8e368cba3f413bf8e4373f5df70d59 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. This Subtopic follows the same Scope and Scope Exceptions as outlined in the Overall Subtopic, see Section 715-10-15, with specific qualifications and exceptions noted below. ##### [715-30-15-2](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/30/#715-30-15-2) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z to 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z Record version: sha256:b1ebee5c79c7fa7648f72d2eb7a94d1ff81ff8a8b92ebbd8d56c992447b11d6b Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The General Subsection of this Section establishes the pervasive scope for this Subtopic, with specific exceptions noted in the other Subsections of this Section. #### Transactions ##### [715-30-15-3](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/30/#715-30-15-3) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z to 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z Record version: sha256:17237bc1d05e5976558c3c988ba9d5e1ce65b35f61521616128227544b295ffd Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The guidance in this Subtopic applies to [defined benefit pension plans](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/d/#defined-benefit-plan "A defined benefit plan provides participants with a determinable benefit based on a formula provided for in the plan. Defined benefit health and welfare plans—Defined benefit health and welfare plans specify a determinable benefit, which may be in the form of a reimbursement to the covered plan participant or a direct payment to providers or third-party insurers for the cost of specified services. Such plans may also include benefits that are payable as a lump sum, such as death benefits. The level of benefits may be defined or limited based on factors such as age, years of service, and salary. Contributions may be determined by the plan's actuary or be based on premiums, actual claims paid, hours worked, or other factors determined by the plan sponsor. Even when a plan is funded pursuant to agreements that specify a fixed rate of employer contributions (for example, a collectively bargained multiemployer plan), such a plan may nevertheless be a defined benefit health and welfare plan if its substance is to provide a defined benefit. Defined benefit pension plan—A pension plan that defines an amount of pension benefit to be provided, usually as a function of one or more factors such as age, years of service, or compensation. Any pension plan that is not a defined contribution pension plan is, for purposes of Subtopic 715-30, a defined benefit pension plan. Defined benefit postretirement plan—A plan that defines postretirement benefits in terms of monetary amounts (for example, $100,000 of life insurance) or benefit coverage to be provided (for example, up to $200 per day for hospitalization, or 80 percent of the cost of specified surgical procedures). Any postretirement benefit plan that is not a defined contribution postretirement plan is, for purposes of Subtopic 715-60, a defined benefit postretirement plan. (Specified monetary amounts and benefit coverage are collectively referred to as benefits.)"), including but not limited to the following types of arrangements: 1. a Cash balance plans 2. b [Benefits](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/b/#benefits "The monetary or in-kind benefits or benefit coverage to which participants may be entitled under a pension plan or a health and welfare plan (which can include active, terminated, and retired employees or their dependents or beneficiaries). Examples of benefits may include, but are not limited to, health care benefits, life insurance, legal, educational, and advisory services, pension benefits, disability benefits, death benefits, and benefits due to termination of employment.") provided in the event of a voluntary or involuntary severance of employment (also called [termination indemnities](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/t/#termination-indemnities "Arrangements, usually or more frequently encountered outside the United States, that are also referred to as termination allowances or severance indemnities. Termination indemnities are amounts payable to eligible employees upon termination of employment. Eligibility may be determined by law, by local custom, by the employer's policy, or by contract with the employer. Plans may or may not be in writing. Termination indemnities are normally, but not exclusively, associated with preretirement severance of employment. They are usually payable as a lump sum, or occasionally in a few payments over a short period of time.")) if such an arrangement is in substance a pension plan (for example, if the benefits are paid for virtually all terminations). ##### [715-30-15-4](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/30/#715-30-15-4) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z to 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z Record version: sha256:6978f39dc23280884c6517a191f461f5e45ff1816d3d87a331e7ce116c29c1ff Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The guidance in this Subtopic does not apply to the following types of benefit plans or arrangements: 1. a Life insurance benefits provided outside a pension plan or other postretirement health and welfare benefits 2. b Health care benefits provided through a pension plan. The accounting for those benefits is set forth in Subtopic 715-60. #### Plans with Characteristics of both a Defined Contribution and a Defined Benefit Plan ##### [715-30-15-4A](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/30/#715-30-15-4A) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z to 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z Record version: sha256:e7b4dcc99cbac411615fda2af62ce189d634612853096b881820ee319a054baa Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. See paragraph [715-70-15-2](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/70/#715-70-15-2) for guidance for plans with characteristics of both a defined contribution and a defined benefit plan. ### Settlements, Curtailments, and Certain Termination Benefits #### Overall Guidance ##### [715-30-15-5](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/30/#715-30-15-5) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z to 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z Record version: sha256:ee042583890dd6680d1afde2c2aa2fd3a32926d6aa0ab99a0eb22445367e5212 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The Settlements, Curtailments, and Certain Termination Benefits Subsections follow the same Scope and Scope Exceptions as outlined in the General Subsection of this Subtopic, see paragraph [715-30-15-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/30/#715-30-15-1), with specific exceptions noted below. #### Transactions ##### [715-30-15-6](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/30/#715-30-15-6) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z to 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z Record version: sha256:f3fb99403ec1e3f22ae3e7913429c67e524ea140cb99b9558298a5a757e3a9ff Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The guidance in the Settlements, Curtailments, and Certain Termination Benefits Subsections applies to the following transactions and activities: 1. a If all or part of the plan's pension benefit obligation is settled or the plan is curtailed: 1. 1 Plan settlements. Examples of transactions that constitute a [settlement](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/s/#settlement-of-a-pension-or-postretirement-benefit-obligation "A transaction that is an irrevocable action, relieves the employer (or the plan) of primary responsibility for a pension or postretirement benefit obligation, and eliminates significant risks related to the obligation and the assets used to effect the settlement.") include making lump-sum cash payments to plan participants in exchange for their rights to receive specified [pension benefits](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/p/#pension-benefits "Periodic (usually monthly) payments made pursuant to the terms of the pension plan to a person who has retired from employment or to that person's beneficiary.") and purchasing nonparticipating annuity contracts to cover [vested benefits](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/v/#vested-benefits "Benefits for which the employee's right to receive a present or future pension benefit is no longer contingent on remaining in the service of the employer. (Other conditions, such as inadequacy of the pension fund, may prevent the employee from receiving the vested benefit.) Under graded vesting, the initial vested right may be to receive in the future a stated percentage of a pension based on the number of years of accumulated credited service; thereafter, the percentage may increase with the number of years of service or of age until the right to receive the entire benefit has vested."). 2. 2 [Plan curtailments](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/c/#plan-curtailment "An event that significantly reduces the expected years of future service of present employees or eliminates for a significant number of employees the accrual of defined benefits for some or all of their future services."), which include: 1. i Termination of employees' services earlier than expected, which may or may not involve closing a facility or discontinuing a component of an entity. 2. ii Termination or suspension of a plan so that employees do not earn additional defined benefits for future services. In the latter situation, future [service](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/s/#service "Employment taken into consideration under a pension plan. Years of employment before the inception of a plan constitute an employee's past service; years thereafter are classified in relation to the particular actuarial valuation being made or discussed. Years of employment (including past service) before the date of a particular valuation constitute prior service; years of employment following the date of the valuation constitute future service; a year of employment adjacent to the date of valuation, or in which such date falls, constitutes current service.") may be counted toward vesting of benefits accumulated based on past service. 2. b Termination benefits provided under an ongoing defined benefit pension arrangement. 3. c Other termination benefits not otherwise addressed in the following: 1. 1 Topic 420 2. 2 Topic 710 3. 3 Topic 712 4. 4 Subtopic 715-60. ##### [715-30-15-7](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/715/30/#715-30-15-7) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z to 2026-09-10T00:59:56.604Z Record version: sha256:5434860851403ae288dfccfad4e6e71fc4e8b9455112126afac6b99a00b53bb6 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The guidance in the Settlements, Curtailments, and Certain Termination Benefits Subsections does not apply to the following transactions and activities: 1. a An employer's withdrawal from a multiemployer pension plan 2. b Other termination benefits addressed in the following: 1. 1 Topic 420 2. 2 Topic 710 3. 3 Topic 712 4. 4 Subtopic 715-60.