RETIREMENT PLANS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

RETIREMENT PLANS

RETIREMENT PLANS

International Paper sponsors and maintains the Retirement Plan of International Paper Company (the “Pension Plan”), a tax-qualified defined benefit pension plan that provides retirement benefits to substantially all U.S. salaried employees and hourly employees (receiving salaried benefits) hired prior to July 1, 2004, and substantially all other U.S. hourly and union employees who work at a participating business unit regardless of hire date. These employees generally are eligible to participate in the Pension Plan upon attaining 21 years of age and completing one year of eligibility service. U.S. salaried employees and hourly employees (receiving salaried benefits) hired after June 30, 2004, are not eligible for the Pension Plan, but receive a company contribution to their individual savings plan accounts.

The Pension Plan provides defined pension benefits based on years of credited service and either final average earnings (salaried employees and hourly employees receiving salaried benefits), hourly job rates or specified benefit rates (hourly and union employees). A detailed discussion of these plans is presented in Note 15 to the consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

In connection with the Temple-Inland acquisition in February 2012, International Paper assumed administrative responsibility for the Temple-Inland Retirement Plan, a defined benefit plan which covers substantially all employees of Temple-Inland.

Net periodic pension expense for our qualified and nonqualified U.S. defined benefit plans comprised the following:

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
In millions	2012			2011			2012			2011
Service cost	$	38		$	31		$	113		$	91
Interest cost	154			136			452			408
Expected return on plan assets	(190		)	(178		)	(563		)	(535		)
Actuarial loss	76			53			230			159
Amortization of prior service cost	8			7			24			23
Net periodic pension expense	$	86		$	49		$	256		$	146

The Company’s funding policy for our pension plans is to contribute amounts sufficient to meet legal funding requirements, plus any additional amounts that the Company may determine to be appropriate considering the funded status of the plan, tax deductibility, the cash flows generated by the Company, and other factors. The Company made a $44 million contribution to its pension plan in June 2012. The Company continually reassesses the amount and timing of any discretionary contributions and could elect to make such a contribution in 2012. The nonqualified defined benefit plans are funded to the extent of benefit payments, which totaled $81 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012.