OTHER POSTRETIREMENT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

In addition to providing pension benefits, the Company provides certain health care and life insurance benefits for some of its retired employees in the United States. Certain employees may become eligible for these benefits as they reach normal retirement age while working for the Company.

The following sets forth the funded status of the domestic plans as of the most recent actuarial valuations using measurement dates of December 31 ($ in millions):



	2015			2014
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	221.4		$	194.8
Service cost	1.1			1.1
Interest cost	8.4			10.3
Amendments, curtailments and other	(3.6		)	(1.0		)
Actuarial (gain) loss	(22.7		)	33.2
Acquisitions	5.0			—
Retiree contributions	3.6			3.7
Benefits paid	(19.8		)	(20.7		)
Benefit obligation at end of year	193.4			221.4
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets	—			—
Funded status	$	(193.4	)	$	(221.4	)

As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, $175 million and $202 million, respectively, of the total underfunded status of the plan was recognized as long-term accrued postretirement liability since it was not expected to be funded within one year.

Weighted average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations at date of measurement:



	2015		2014
Discount rate	4.2	%	4.0	%
Medical trend rate – initial	6.8	%	7.1	%
Medical trend rate – grading period	22 years		14 years
Medical trend rate – ultimate	4.5	%	4.5	%

Effect of a one-percentage-point change in assumed health care cost trend rates:



($ in millions)	1% Increase		1% Decrease
Effect on the total of service and interest cost components	$	0.5	$	(0.4	)
Effect on postretirement medical benefit obligation	6.6		(5.8		)

The medical trend rate used to determine the postretirement benefit obligation was 6.8% for 2015. The rate decreases gradually to an ultimate rate of 4.5% in 2037 and remains at that level thereafter. The trend is a significant factor in determining the amounts reported.

Components of net periodic benefit cost:



($ in millions)	2015			2014
Service cost	$	1.1		$	1.1
Interest cost	8.4			10.3
Amortization of net loss	1.0			1.4
Amortization of prior service credit	(3.1		)	(4.1		)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	7.4		$	8.7

Net periodic benefit costs are included in cost of sales and selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

As discussed in Note 10, at the end of fiscal year 2015, the Company changed the approach used to measure service and interest costs for pension and other postretirement benefits. This change does not affect the measurement of the Company’s pension or postretirement obligations. The Company has accounted for this change as a change in accounting estimate and, accordingly, has accounted for it on a prospective basis.

Included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as of December 31, 2015 are the following amounts that have not yet been recognized in net periodic benefit cost: unrecognized prior service credits of $27 million ($17 million, net of tax) and unrecognized actuarial losses of $19 million ($12 million, net of tax). The unrecognized losses and prior service credits, net, is calculated as the difference between the actuarially determined projected benefit obligation and the value of the plan assets less accrued benefit costs as of December 31, 2015. The prior service credits and actuarial losses included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and expected to be recognized in net periodic benefit costs during the year ending December 31, 2016 is $3 million ($2 million, net of tax) and $0.2 million ($0.1 million, net of tax), respectively.

The following sets forth benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, expected to be paid in the periods indicated ($ in millions):



2016	$	17.9
2017	17.8
2018	17.6
2019	17.2
2020	16.5
2021 – 2025	71.2