v3.26.1
Retirement Plans
 12 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2026
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Retirement Plans Retirement Plans
We have retirement plans that cover substantially all employees. The plans generally provide for employee retirement between the ages 60 and 65, and benefits based on length of service and compensation, as defined.
Defined Benefit Plans
Our Board of Directors approved plan amendments that froze the following retirement plans:
•Retirement Plan for the Employees of John Wiley & Sons, Canada was frozen effective December 31, 2015;
•Retirement Plan for the Employees of John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., a UK plan was frozen effective April 30, 2015 and;
•US Employees’ Retirement Plan, Supplemental Benefit Plan, and Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan, were frozen effective June 30, 2013.
We maintain the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan for certain officers and senior management which provides for the payment of supplemental retirement benefits after the termination of employment for 10 years, or in a lifetime annuity. Under certain circumstances, including a change of control as defined, the payment of such amounts could be accelerated on a present value basis. Future accrued benefits to this plan have been discontinued as noted above.
The components of net pension expense for the defined benefit plans and the weighted average assumptions were as follows:
For the Years Ended April 30,
202620252024
USNon-USUSNon-USUSNon-US
Service cost$— $499 $— $560 $— $532 
Interest cost11,850 17,479 12,133 16,603 11,654 16,069 
Expected return on plan assets(9,641)(18,371)(9,610)(18,449)(10,372)(19,443)
Amortization of prior service cost(154)60 (154)66 (154)60 
Amortization of net actuarial loss2,293 6,532 2,314 6,058 2,446 5,656 
Curtailment/settlement (credit)— — — (181)— — 
Net pension expense$4,348 $6,199 $4,683 $4,657 $3,574 $2,874 
 
Discount rate5.7 %5.5 %5.8 %5.1 %5.1 %4.8 %
Rate of compensation increaseN/A3.0 %N/A3.0 %N/A3.0 %
Expected return on plan assets5.8 %6.2 %5.8 %6.2 %5.8 %6.4 %

In the year ended April 30, 2025, due to the sale of the CrossKnowledge business, there was a curtailment and a settlement credit due to the divestment of the CrossKnowledge Pension Plan of $(0.2) million which is primarily reflected in Other (expense) income, net on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).

The service cost component of net pension expense is reflected in Operating and administrative expenses on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). The other components of net pension expense are reported separately from the service cost component and below Operating income. Such amounts are reflected in Other (expense) income, net on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
The recognized net actuarial loss for each fiscal year is calculated using the “corridor method,” which reflects the amortization of the net loss at the beginning of the fiscal year in excess of 10% of the greater of the market value of plan assets or the projected benefit obligation. The amortization period is based on the average expected life of plan participants for plans with all or almost all inactive participants and frozen plans, and on the average remaining working lifetime of active plan participants for all other plans.
The vested benefit obligation for our defined benefit postretirement plans is the actuarial present value of the vested benefits to which the employee is currently entitled but based on the employee's expected date of separation of retirement.
We recognize the overfunded or underfunded status of defined benefit postretirement plans, measured as the difference between the fair value of plan assets and the projected benefit obligation, on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. The change in the funded status of the plan is recognized in Accumulated other comprehensive loss on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. Plan assets and obligations are measured at fair value as of our Consolidated Statements of Financial Position date.
The following table sets forth the changes in, and the status of, our defined benefit plans’ assets and benefit obligations:
20262025
USNon-USUSNon-US
CHANGE IN PLAN ASSETS
Fair value of plan assets, beginning of year$174,170 $302,532 $173,569 $293,168 
Actual return on plan assets17,429 13,376 13,312 (7,426)
Employer contributions2,961 1,887 3,198 13,526 
Employee contributions— — — — 
Settlements— — — (729)
Benefits paid(15,677)(14,548)(15,909)(14,560)
Foreign currency rate changes— 3,870 — 18,553 
Fair value, end of year$178,883 $307,117 $174,170 $302,532 
CHANGE IN PROJECTED BENEFIT OBLIGATION
Benefit obligation, beginning of year$(216,547)$(323,332)$(215,563)$(324,362)
Service cost— (499)— (560)
Interest cost(11,850)(17,479)(12,133)(16,603)
Actuarial gains (losses)1,282 14,725 (4,760)22,520 
Benefits paid15,677 14,548 15,909 14,560 
Foreign currency rate changes— (4,572)— (19,984)
Settlements and other— — — 1,097 
Benefit obligation, end of year$(211,438)$(316,609)$(216,547)$(323,332)
Underfunded status, end of year$(32,555)$(9,492)$(42,377)$(20,800)
AMOUNTS RECOGNIZED ON THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
Noncurrent assets— 21,769 — 12,885 
Current pension liability(2,884)(1,405)(2,881)(1,282)
Noncurrent pension liability(29,671)(29,856)(39,496)(32,403)
Net amount recognized in statement of financial position$(32,555)$(9,492)$(42,377)$(20,800)
AMOUNTS RECOGNIZED IN ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (BEFORE TAX) CONSIST OF
Net actuarial losses$(64,405)$(193,249)$(75,768)$(206,945)
Prior service cost gains (losses)1,330 (947)1,484 (992)
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss$(63,075)$(194,196)$(74,284)$(207,937)
Change in accumulated other comprehensive loss$11,209 $13,741 $1,103 $(10,008)
INFORMATION FOR PENSION PLANS WITH AN ACCUMULATED BENEFIT OBLIGATION IN EXCESS OF PLAN ASSETS
Accumulated benefit obligation$211,438 $31,783 $216,547 $34,189 
Fair value of plan assets$178,883 $527 $174,170 $511 
INFORMATION FOR PENSION PLANS WITH A PROJECTED BENEFIT OBLIGATION IN EXCESS OF PLAN ASSETS
Projected benefit obligation$211,438 $31,789 $216,547 $34,198 
Fair value of plan assets$178,883 $527 $174,170 $511 
WEIGHTED AVERAGE ASSUMPTIONS USED IN DETERMINING ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
Discount rate5.8 %6.0 %5.7 %5.5 %
Rate of compensation increaseN/A3.0 %N/A3.0 %
Accumulated benefit obligations$(211,438)$(308,934)$(216,547)$(315,748)
Actuarial gains in the US plans resulting in a decrease to our projected benefit obligation for the year ended April 30, 2026, were primarily due to a change in the discount rate. Actuarial gains for the non-US plans, resulting in a decrease to our projected benefit obligation for the year ended April 30, 2026, were primarily due to changes in the discount rates, offset by losses from demographic experience and a change in the mortality assumption for the UK Plan.

Actuarial losses in the US plans resulting in an increase to our projected benefit obligation for the year ended April 30, 2025, were primarily due to a change in the discount rate and losses from actual demographic experience being different than expected. Actuarial gains for the non-US plans, resulting in a decrease to our projected benefit obligation for the year ended April 30, 2025, were primarily due to a change in the discount rates.
Pension plan assets/investments:
The investment guidelines for the defined benefit pension plans are established based upon an evaluation of market conditions, plan liabilities, cash requirements for benefit payments, and tolerance for risk. Investment guidelines include the use of actively and passively managed securities. The investment objective is to ensure that funds are available to meet the plans’ benefit obligations when they are due. The investment strategy is to invest in high quality and diversified equity and debt securities to achieve our long-term expectation. The plans’ risk management practices provide guidance to the investment managers, including guidelines for asset concentration, credit rating, and liquidity. Asset allocation favors a balanced portfolio, with a global aggregated target allocation of approximately 15% equity securities and 85% fixed income securities and cash. Due to volatility in the market, the target allocation is not always desirable and asset allocations will fluctuate between acceptable ranges of plus or minus 5%. We regularly review the investment allocations and periodically rebalance investments to the target allocations. We categorize our pension assets into three levels based upon the assumptions (inputs) used to price the assets. Level 1 provides the most reliable measure of fair value, whereas Level 3 generally requires significant management judgment. The three levels are defined as follows:
•Level 1: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.
•Level 2: Observable inputs other than those included in Level 1. For example, quoted prices for similar assets in active markets or quoted prices for identical assets in inactive markets.
•Level 3: Unobservable inputs reflecting assumptions about the inputs used in pricing the asset.
We did not maintain any level 3 assets during the years ended April 30, 2026 and 2025.
Certain of our pension assets are invested in common collective trusts managed and valued by the fund administrator. The fair value of the funds is based on the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the underlying investments owned by the fund less its liabilities based on published daily rate. Certain investments that are measured at fair value using the NAV per share (or its equivalent) practical expedient do not have to be classified in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amounts presented in the following tables are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented for the total pension benefit plan assets. For those plan assets measured at NAV, a redemption request can be executed within a 7-day notice. There are no unfunded commitments or redemption restrictions for these funds.
The following tables set forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, pension plan assets at their fair value as of April 30:
20262025
Level 1Level 2NAVTotalLevel 1Level 2NAVTotal
US Plan Assets
Global equity securities: Limited Partnership$4,740 $49,912 $54,652 $4,904 $51,727 $56,631 
Fixed income securities: Commingled trust funds— 124,231 124,231 — 117,539 117,539 
Total US plan assets$4,740 $174,143 $178,883 $4,904 $169,266 $174,170 
Non-US Plan Assets
Equity securities:
US equities$— $11,922 $11,922 $— $25,110 $25,110 
Non-US equities5,412 5,412 9,530 9,530 
Balanced managed funds— 49,171 49,171 — 71,629 71,629 
Fixed income securities: Commingled funds— 145,632 145,632 — 100,740 100,740 
Other:
Real estate/other— 526 526 — 511 511 
Cash and cash equivalents11,057 83,397 94,454 12,503 82,509 95,012 
Total Non-US plan assets$11,057 $296,060 $— $307,117 $12,503 $290,029 $— $302,532 
Total plan assets$11,057 $300,800 $174,143 $486,000 $12,503 $294,933 $169,266 $476,702 
Expected employer contributions to the defined benefit pension plans in the year ended April 30, 2027 will be approximately $6.0 million, including $2.0 million of minimum amounts required for our non-US plans. From time to time, we may elect to make voluntary contributions to our defined benefit plans to improve their funded status.
Benefit payments to retirees from all defined benefit plans are expected to be the following in the fiscal year indicated:
Fiscal YearUSNon-USTotal
2027$16,120 $14,921 $31,041 
202816,100 15,000 31,100 
202916,117 16,233 32,350 
203015,796 17,207 33,003 
203115,623 17,998 33,621 
2032–203677,619 103,865 181,484 
Total$157,375 $185,224 $342,599 
Retiree Health Benefits
We provide contributory life insurance and health care benefits, subject to certain dollar limitations, for substantially all of our eligible retired US employees. The retiree health benefit is no longer available for any employee who retires after December 31, 2017. The cost of such benefits is expensed over the years the employee renders service and is not funded in advance. The accumulated postretirement benefit obligation recognized on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position as of April 30, 2026 and 2025 was $0.3 million and $0.6 million, respectively. Annual credits for these plans were $(0.3) million, $(0.1) million, and $(0.1) million for the years ended April 30, 2026, 2025, and 2024, respectively, and are reflected in Operating and administrative expenses on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
Defined Contribution Savings Plans
We have defined contribution savings plans. Our contribution is based on employee contributions and the level of our match. We may make discretionary contributions to all employees as a group. The expense recorded for these plans was approximately $21.5 million, $22.8 million, and $27.0 million in the years ended April 30, 2026, 2025, and 2024, respectively, and is reflected in Operating and administrative expenses on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).