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RETIREMENT PLANS (Note)
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2022
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Retirement Plans [Note Text Block] NOTE 19 - RETIREMENT PLANS
International Paper sponsors and maintains the Retirement Plan of International Paper Company (the Pension Plan), a tax-qualified defined benefit pension plan that provides retirement benefits to substantially all hourly and union employees who work at a participating business unit. The Pension Plan was frozen as of January 1, 2019 for salaried participants.

The Pension Plan provides defined pension benefits based on years of credited service and either final average earnings (salaried employees and hourly employees receiving salaried benefits), hourly job rates or specified benefit rates (hourly and union employees).

Net periodic pension expense (income) for our qualified and nonqualified U.S. defined benefit plans comprised the following: 

 Three Months Ended
June 30,		Six Months Ended
June 30,
In millions2022202120222021
Service cost$20 $25 $43 $52 
Interest cost85 84 169 167 
Expected return on plan assets(163)(183)(325)(366)
Actuarial loss23 40 44 79 
Amortization of prior service cost5 5 11 11 
Net periodic pension expense (income)$(30)$(29)$(58)$(57)

The components of net periodic pension expense (income) other than the Service cost component are included in Non-operating pension expense (income) in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

The Company’s funding policy for our pension plans is to contribute amounts sufficient to meet legal funding requirements, plus any additional amounts that the Company may determine to be appropriate considering the funded status of the plan, tax deductibility, the cash flows generated by the Company, and other factors. The Company made no voluntary cash contributions to the qualified pension plan in the first six months of 2022 or 2021. The nonqualified defined benefit plans are funded to the extent of benefit payments, which totaled $11 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022.