Note 11 - Employee Retirement Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Notes to Financial Statements

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

11.      Employee Retirement Plans

The following table summarizes the components of net periodic benefit cost for Corning’s defined benefit pension and postretirement health care and life insurance plans (in millions):

	Pension benefits								Postretirement benefits
	Three months ended September 30,				Nine months ended September 30,				Three months ended September 30,				Nine months ended September 30,
	2016		2015		2016		2015		2016		2015		2016		2015
Service cost	$	22	$	22	$	65	$	67	$	3	$	3	$	7	$	10
Interest cost		31		36		93		109		6		8		19		24
Expected return on plan assets		(41)		(44)		(124)		(133)
Amortization of net loss												1		(1)		3
Amortization of prior service cost (credit)		1		2		4		5		(1)		(2)		(3)		(5)
Recognition of actuarial loss		26				60		8
Total pension and postretirement benefit expense	$	39	$	16	$	98	$	56	$	8	$	10	$	22	$	32

The recognition of actuarial loss in the three months ended September 30, 2016 resulted from small settlements in several of our benefit plans which triggered plan remeasurements.  In addition to the settlements occurring in the third quarter of 2016, results in the nine months ended September 30, 2016 also included the impact of the finalization of our 2015 benefit plan valuations.