Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

General Discussion of Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits [Abstract]

Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost

Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost

Benefit costs for defined benefit pension plans are shown below.  The funding policy and assumptions disclosed in the Company’s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K are expected to continue unchanged throughout 2015.

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2015			2014			2015			2014
Service cost - benefits earned during the period	$	1.9		$	2.0		$	5.8		$	5.9
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation	8.2			8.6			24.5			25.6
Expected return on plan assets	(12.7		)	(12.0		)	(38.1		)	(36.0		)
Settlement loss	—			0.9			—			1.3
Curtailment loss	—			—			—			0.9
Amortization:
Unrecognized transition obligation	0.1			0.1			0.1			0.2
Prior service cost	0.2			0.3			0.7			1.0
Actuarial net loss	5.0			3.0			15.1			8.8
Net periodic benefit cost	$	2.7		$	2.9		$	8.1		$	7.7

Costs for defined contribution pension plans were $4.9 million and $14.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015. Costs for defined contribution pension plans were $5.1 million and $15.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014. Benefit costs for other postretirement plans were not significant for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. For the nine months ended September 30, 2014, a curtailment benefit of $3.0 million was recorded related to other postretirement plan changes.