EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

The Company maintains several pension and retirement plans and provides certain health-care and life insurance benefits.

Net periodic pension and other postretirement benefit expense included the following components:



	Three Months Ended July 31,
	Pension Benefits						Other Postretirement Benefits
(in millions)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Net Periodic Benefit Cost:
Service cost	$	4.4		$	3.9		$	0.7		$	0.7
Interest cost	7.8			8.0			0.8			0.7
Expected return on plan assets	(8.4		)	(8.2		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service cost (credit)	—			0.1			(0.2		)	(0.2		)
Amortization of net loss	4.2			3.0			—			—
Net expense	$	8.0		$	6.8		$	1.3		$	1.2



	Six Months Ended July 31,
	Pension Benefits						Other Postretirement Benefits
(in millions)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Net Periodic Benefit Cost:
Service cost	$	8.9		$	8.6		$	1.5		$	1.4
Interest cost	15.4			16.0			1.6			1.5
Expected return on plan assets	(16.7		)	(16.5		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service cost (credit)	—			0.2			(0.4		)	(0.3		)
Amortization of net loss	7.5			6.6			—			—
Net expense	$	15.1		$	14.9		$	2.7		$	2.6

The components of net periodic benefit cost other than the service cost component are included in Other (income) expense, net on the condensed consolidated statements of earnings.

The Company maintains a noncontributory defined benefit pension qualified in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service Code ("Qualified Plan") covering substantially all U.S. employees hired before January 1, 2006. The Company funds the Qualified Plan's trust in accordance with regulatory limits to provide for current service and for the unfunded benefit obligation over a reasonable period and for current service benefit accruals. To the extent that these requirements are fully covered by assets in the Qualified Plan, the Company may elect not to make any contribution in a particular year. No cash contribution was required in the fiscal year ending January 31, 2018 and none is required in the fiscal year ending January 31, 2019 ("fiscal 2018") to meet the minimum funding requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. However, the Company periodically evaluates whether to make discretionary cash contributions to the Qualified Plan and currently expects to make such a contribution of approximately $12.0 million for fiscal 2018. This expectation is subject to change based on management's assessment of a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, asset performance, interest rates and changes in actuarial assumptions.