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Employee Retirement Benefits
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]  
Employee Retirement Benefits
NOTE 11. Employee Benefit Plans

Defined Benefit Plans

The Company's net periodic benefit costs for all defined benefit plans, for the three month periods ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 were as follows:
 
U.S. Plans
 
Non-U.S. Plans
 
2016
 
2015
 
2016
 
2015
 
(Dollars in Millions)
Costs Recognized in Income:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Service cost
$
—

 
$
—

 
$
1

 
$
2

Interest cost
7

 
8

 
2

 
5

Expected return on plan assets
(10
)
 
(11
)
 
(2
)
 
(5
)
Amortization of losses and other
—

 
—

 
—

 
1

Net pension (income) expense
$
(3
)
 
$
(3
)
 
$
1

 
$
3



During the three months ended March 31, 2016, cash contributions to the Company's U.S. and non-U.S. defined benefit pension plan were $3 million and $2 million, respectively. The Company expects to make cash contributions to its defined benefit pension plans of $14 million in 2016. The Company’s expected 2016 contributions may be revised.

2016 Discount Rate for Estimated Service and Interest Cost: Through December 31, 2015, the Company recognized service and interest cost components of pension expense using a single weighted average discount method representing the constant annual rate required to discount all future benefit payments related to past service. During the fourth quarter of 2015, the Company changed the method used to estimate the service and interest components of net periodic benefit cost for pension benefits for its U.S. and certain non-U.S. plans. The Company has elected to utilize a disaggregated discount rate approach resulting in different amounts of interest cost compared to the traditional single weighted-average discount rate approach because of different weightings given to each subset of payments.

This change does not affect the measurement of the total benefit obligation, but resulted in a decrease in the service and interest components of benefit cost beginning in 2016. Based on current economic conditions, the Company estimates that the service cost and interest cost for the affected plans will be reduced by approximately $7 million in 2016 as a result of the change in method. The Company has accounted for this as a change in accounting estimate that is inseparable from a change in accounting principle, and accordingly has accounted for it on a prospective basis.

Defined Contribution Plans

Most U.S. salaried employees and certain non-U.S. employees are eligible to participate in defined contribution plans by contributing a portion of their compensation, which is partially matched by the Company. For the U.S. defined contribution plan, the Company matches 100% of contributions on the first 6% of pay contributed. The expense related to matching contributions was approximately $2 million and $4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.