Employee Benefits

9 Months Ended

Sep. 27, 2014

Note 7 Employee benefits

The Company sponsors a number of U.S. and foreign pension plans, as well as other nonpension postretirement and postemployment plans to provide various benefits for its employees. These plans are described within the footnotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company's 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Components of Company plan benefit expense for the periods presented are included in the tables below.

Pension
		Quarter ended				Year-to-date period ended
(millions)		September 27, 2014		September 28, 2013		September 27, 2014		September 28, 2013
Service cost	$	27	$	33	$	80	$	101
Interest cost		56		51		169		151
Expected return on plan assets		(104)		(90)		(313)		(269)
Amortization of unrecognized prior service cost		3		4		10		12
Total pension expense (income)	$	(18)	$	(2)	$	(54)	$	(5)

Other nonpension postretirement
		Quarter ended				Year-to-date period ended
(millions)		September 27, 2014		September 28, 2013		September 27, 2014		September 28, 2013
Service cost	$	7	$	8	$	21	$	25
Interest cost		13		13		40		37
Expected return on plan assets		(24)		(21)		(73)		(65)
Amortization of unrecognized prior service cost		(1)		-		(2)		(2)
Recognized net loss		7		-		7		-
Curtailment gain		(12)		-		(12)		-
Total postretirement benefit expense (income)	$	(10)	$	-	$	(19)	$	(5)

Postemployment
		Quarter ended				Year-to-date period ended
(millions)		September 27, 2014		September 28, 2013		September 27, 2014		September 28, 2013
Service cost	$	2	$	2	$	6	$	5
Interest cost		1		1		3		3
Recognized net loss		1		1		3		4
Total postemployment benefit expense	$	4	$	4	$	12	$	12

During the quarter ended September 27, 2014, the Company recognized a curtailment gain of $12 million in conjunction with Project K restructuring activity. In addition, the Company remeasured the benefit obligation for the impacted other nonpension postretirement plan. The remeasurement resulted in a mark-to-market loss of $7 million primarily due to a lower discount rate.

Company contributions to employee benefit plans are summarized as follows:
					Nonpension
(millions)			Pension		postretirement		Total
Quarter ended:
	September 27, 2014	$	5	$	2	$	7
	September 28, 2013	$	2	$	4	$	6
Year-to-date period ended:
	September 27, 2014	$	34	$	10	$	44
	September 28, 2013	$	30	$	12	$	42
Full year:
	Fiscal year 2014 (projected)	$	43	$	14	$	57
	Fiscal year 2013 (actual)	$	34	$	14	$	48

Plan funding strategies may be modified in response to management's evaluation of tax deductibility, market conditions, and competing investment alternatives.