Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits

The components of net periodic benefit cost were as follows:

	Third quarter ended				Nine months ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Pension benefits
Service cost	$	1	$	6	$	10	$	19
Interest cost	17		59		81		177
Expected return on plan assets	(21)		(71)		(115)		(214)
Recognized net actuarial loss	12		35		66		104
Amortization of prior service cost (benefit)	—		—		—		1
Settlements	8		4		72		8
Net periodic benefit cost(1)	17		33		114		95
Discontinued operations	—		21		20		69
Net amount recognized in continuing operations in Statement of Consolidated Operations	$	17	$	12	$	94	$	26
Other postretirement benefits
Service cost	$	1	$	1	$	3	$	5
Interest cost	2		7		9		21
Recognized net actuarial loss	—		1		2		3
Amortization of prior service cost (benefit)	(2)		(1)		(5)		(4)
Curtailments	(2)		—		(2)		(58)
Net periodic benefit cost(1)	(1)		8		7		(33)
Discontinued operations	—		7		6		(22)
Net amount recognized in continuing operations in Statement of Consolidated Operations	$	(1)	$	1	$	1	$	(11)

(1)Service cost for continuing operations was included within Cost of goods sold, Selling, general administrative, and other expenses, and Research and development expenses; settlements and curtailments were included in Restructuring and other charges; and all other cost components were recorded in Other expense, net in the Statement of Consolidated Operations. The amounts included in Net periodic benefit cost include costs related to both continuing and discontinued operations.

Pension benefits

In the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 and nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Company undertook a number of actions to reduce pension obligations in the U.K. by offering lump sum payments to certain plan participants and entering into group annuity contracts with a third-party carrier to pay and administer future annuity payments. The Company applied

settlement accounting to these U.K. pension plans which resulted in settlement charges of $62 that were recorded in Restructuring and other charges in the Statement of Consolidated Operations in the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 and nine months ended September 30, 2020.

In the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Company also applied settlement accounting to certain Canadian, U.K., and U.S. pension plans due to lump sum payments to participants which resulted in settlement charges of $8 and $10, respectively, that were recorded in Restructuring and other charges.

In the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company applied settlement accounting to certain U.S. pension plans due to lump sum payments to participants which resulted in settlement charges of $4 and $8, respectively, that were recorded in Restructuring and other charges.

Other postretirement benefits

In the third quarter of 2020, the Company applied curtailment accounting due to a workforce reduction resulting in a decrease in expense of $2 which is recorded in Restructuring and other charges in the Statement of Consolidated Operations. 

In the second quarter of 2020, the Company communicated to plan participants that for its U.S. salaried and non-bargained hourly retirees of the Company and its subsidiaries, it would eliminate certain health care subsidies effective December 31, 2021 and that for certain bargained retirees of the Company, it would eliminate certain health care subsidies effective December 31, 2021 and the life insurance benefit effective August 1, 2020. As a result of these changes, in the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 and nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Company recorded a decrease to the Accrued other postretirement benefits liability of $6, which was offset in Accumulated other comprehensive loss.

In the first quarter of 2019, the Company communicated to plan participants that for its U.S. salaried and non-bargained hourly retirees of the Company and its subsidiaries, it would eliminate the life insurance benefit effective May 1, 2019, and certain health care subsidies effective December 31, 2019. As a result of these changes, in the first quarter of 2019, the Company recorded a decrease to the Accrued other postretirement benefits liability of $75, which was offset by a curtailment benefit of $58 (of which $16 was recorded in Restructuring and other charges and $42 in discontinued operations in the Statement of Consolidated Operations) and $17 in Accumulated other comprehensive loss in the Statement of Changes in Consolidated Equity.