PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS

6 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2012

PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS

PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS

(7)	The Company has several defined benefit pension plans covering its U.S. employees and employees in certain foreign countries.  The Company also has several defined benefit postretirement health care and life insurance plans for retired employees in the U.S. and Canada.
	The worldwide components of net periodic pension cost consisted of the following in millions of dollars:

	Three Months Ended April 30						Six Months Ended April 30
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Service cost	$	56		$	50		$	109		$	99
Interest cost	117			124			233			248
Expected return on plan assets	(197		)	(199		)	(393		)	(398		)
Amortization of actuarial loss	48			35			100			73
Amortization of prior service cost	11			11			21			21
Settlements/curtailments	1						2
Net cost	$	36		$	21		$	72		$	43

The worldwide components of net periodic postretirement benefits cost (health care and life insurance) consisted of the following in millions of dollars:

	Three Months Ended April 30						Six Months Ended April 30
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Service cost	$	11		$	11		$	23		$	22
Interest cost	69			82			140			163
Expected return on plan assets	(25		)	(29		)	(50		)	(57		)
Amortization of actuarial loss				68			60			135
Amortization of prior service credit	(5		)	(3		)	(8		)	(7		)
Net cost	$	50		$	129		$	165		$	256

For fiscal year 2012, the participants in one of the Company’s postretirement health care plans became “almost all” inactive as described by the applicable accounting standards due to additional retirements.  As a result, the net actuarial loss for this plan in the table above is now being amortized over the longer period for the average remaining life expectancy of the inactive participants rather than the average remaining service period of the active participants.  The amortization of actuarial loss also decreased due to lower expected costs from the prescription drug plan to provide group benefits under Medicare Part D as an alternative to collecting the retiree drug subsidy.

During the first six months of 2012, the Company contributed approximately $238 million to its pension plans and $21 million to its other postretirement benefit plans.  The Company presently anticipates contributing an additional $197 million to its pension plans and $7 million to its other postretirement benefit plans in the remainder of fiscal year 2012.  These contributions include payments from Company funds to either increase plan assets or make direct payments to plan participants.