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Employee Postretirement Benefits
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Defined Benefit Pension Plans and Defined Benefit Postretirement Plans Disclosure [Abstract]  
Employee Postretirement Benefits
Employee Postretirement Benefits
The table below presents net periodic benefit cost information for defined benefit plans and other postretirement benefit plans:
 
Pension Benefits
 
Other Benefits
 
Three Months Ended March 31
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Service cost
$
10

 
$
11

 
$
4

 
$
4

Interest cost
64

 
68

 
8

 
9

Expected return on plan assets
(75
)
 
(82
)
 
—

 
—

Recognized net actuarial loss
29

 
24

 
—

 
—

Settlements
9

 
—

 
—

 
—

Other
(5
)
 
5

 
—

 
—

Net periodic benefit cost
$
32

 
$
26

 
$
12

 
$
13


For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, we made cash contributions of $435 and $180, respectively, to our pension trusts. Effective January 2015, the U.S. pension plan was amended to include a lump-sum pension benefit payout option for certain plan participants. In addition, in February 2015, we entered into agreements to purchase group annuity contracts that will transfer to two insurance companies the pension benefit obligations for approximately 21,000 Kimberly-Clark retirees in the United States. Assuming all closing conditions are satisfied, we expect these transactions will be completed in the second quarter of 2015. In connection with these transactions, during the first quarter of 2015 we made a $410 contribution to our U.S. pension plan in order to maintain the plan’s funded status. As a result of these changes, we expect to recognize total pension settlement charges of $0.8 billion after tax ($1.3 billion pre-tax) in 2015, mostly in the second quarter. In total we expect to contribute $450 to $500 to our defined benefit pension plans for the full year 2015.