Previous empirical research demonstrates that the voluntary disclosure of defined benefit pension plan (DBPP) information by employers is value-relevant to investors and carries potential proprietary costs. This paper extends these findings in the context of the voluntary use of financial reporting standards (FRS) in annual reports sent by pension plans to their participants. FRS use is predicted to be related to proprietary costs for defined benefit pension plans (DBPPs) and to political visibility for defined contribution pension plans (DCPPs). Tests on the voluntary reporting practices of samples of 54 Australian DCPPs and 54 DBPPs during 1991-92 support these predictions