intangible assets associated with products sold in Venezuela. If we are unable to utilize a government-approved exchange rate mechanism for concentrate sales, or if the bolivar further devalues, it could result in the impairment of these intangible assets. As of December 31, 2010, the carrying value of our accounts receivable from our bottling partner in Venezuela and intangible assets associated with products sold in Venezuela was approximately $135 million. The revenues and cash flows associated with concentrate sales to our bottling partner in Venezuela in 2011 are not anticipated to be significant to the Company's consolidated financial statements. 

Pension Plan Valuations 

Our Company sponsors and/or contributes to pension and postretirement health care and life insurance benefit plans covering substantially all U.S. employees. We also sponsor nonqualified, unfunded defined benefit pension plans for certain associates and participate in multi-employer pension plans in the United States. In addition, our Company and its subsidiaries have various pension plans and other forms of postretirement arrangements outside the United States. 

Management is required to make certain critical estimates related to actuarial assumptions used to determine our pension expense and related obligation. We believe the most critical assumptions are related to (1) the discount rate used to determine the present value of the liabilities and (2) the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets. All of our actuarial assumptions are reviewed annually. Changes in these assumptions could have a material impact on the measurement of our pension expense and related obligation. 

At each measurement date, we determine the discount rate by reference to rates of high quality, long-term corporate bonds that mature in a pattern similar to the future payments we anticipate making under the plans. As of December 31, 2010 and 2009, the weighted-average discount rate used to compute our benefit obligation was 5.5 percent and

5.75 percent, respectively. 

The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is based upon the long-term outlook of our investment strategy as well as our historical returns and volatilities for each asset class. We also review current levels of interest rates and inflation to assess the reasonableness of our long-term rates. Our pension plan investment objective is to ensure all our plans have sufficient funds to meet their benefit obligations when they become due. As a result, the Company periodically revises asset allocations, where appropriate, to improve returns and manage risk. The weighted-average expected long-term rate of return used to calculate our net periodic benefit cost was 8.0 percent in both 2010 and 2009. 

In 2010, the Company's total pension expense was $176 million. In 2011, we expect our total pension expense to be approximately $240 million. The expected increase is primarily due to the impact of our acquisition of CCE's North American business. The estimated impact of an additional 50-basis-point decrease in the discount rate on our 2011 pension expense is an increase to our pension expense of approximately $21