How do you handle pension costs in EBITDA adjustments for comps with large pension obligations?

At comps with large pension obligations, pension service cost sits in EBITDA, but interest cost and plan-asset returns often sit in the financial result. Adjustment options:

• Take reported EBITDA (service cost stays in) — simple, but inconsistent across companies with funded vs. unfunded plans.
• Pension adjustment: use cash service cost instead of P&L service cost.
• Pure operating EBITDA: strip out all pension items, then treat the pension liability separately as 'debt-like'. IB standard: method (3), for clean comparability.