Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits

Service cost for net periodic pension and other postretirement benefit costs is included in Cost of sales, exclusive of depreciation and amortization, Selling, general and administrative, and Research and development, net in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of income. All other components of net periodic benefit cost are now recorded in Other charges, except for pension settlement charges, in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of income.

The net periodic pension and other postretirement benefit costs for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:



	Pension						Other Postretirement Benefits
	Three Months Ended March 31						Three Months Ended March 31
($ in millions)	2019			2018			2019			2018
Service cost		$6			$8			$2			$2
Interest cost	26			24			6			6
Expected return on plan assets	(35		)	(38		)	—			—
Amortization of actuarial losses	15			16			2			5
Amortization of prior service credit	—			—			(14		)	(15		)
Net periodic benefit cost		$12			$10			($4	)		($2	)

PPG expects its 2019 net periodic pension and other postretirement benefit cost to be approximately $30 million, with pension expense representing approximately $45 million and other postretirement benefit cost representing a benefit of approximately $15 million.

Contributions to Defined Benefit Pension Plans



	Three Months Ended March 31
($ in millions)	2019		2018
U.S. defined benefit pension contributions		$—		$25
Non-U.S. defined benefit pension mandatory contributions		$3		$5

PPG made a voluntary contribution of $25 million to its U.S. defined benefit pension plans in January 2018. PPG expects to make mandatory contributions to its non-U.S. pension plans in the range of $15 million to $25 million during the remaining nine months of 2019. PPG may make voluntary contributions to its defined benefit pension plans in 2019 and beyond.