RETIREMENT AND OTHER BENEFIT PROGRAMS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

RETIREMENT AND OTHER BENEFIT PROGRAMS

11. RETIREMENT AND OTHER BENEFIT PROGRAMS

The following is a summary of net periodic benefit cost relating to the company’s pension and other postemployment benefit (OPEB) plans.

	Three months ended
	March 31,
(in millions)	2018			2017
Pension benefits
Service cost	$	22		$	22
Interest cost		46			45
Expected return on plan assets		(78	)		(72	)
Amortization of net losses and other deferred amounts		24			40
Net periodic pension benefit cost	$	14		$	35
OPEB
Service cost	$	—		$	—
Interest cost		2			2
Amortization of net loss and prior service credit		(6	)		(6	)
Net periodic OPEB cost	$	(4	)	$	(4	)

U.S Pension Plan Amendments

In January 2018, the company announced changes to its U.S. pension plans. The company spun off the assets and liabilities of the qualified plan attributable to current employees into a new plan and will freeze the pay and service amounts used to calculate pension benefits for active participants in the U.S. pension plans as of December 31, 2022. The assets and liabilities attributable to retired and former company employees remained with the original qualified plan. Years of additional service earned and eligible compensation received after December 31, 2022 will not be included in the determination of the benefits payable to participants. These changes resulted in a $57 million decline in the projected benefit obligation (PBO) with an offsetting adjustment against AOCI upon the effective date of the changes.