Retirement Benefits

The Company maintains qualified and non-qualified defined benefit pension plans for its U.S. and non-U.S. eligible employees. The Company’s policy for funding its tax-qualified defined benefit retirement plans is to contribute amounts at least sufficient to meet the funding requirements set forth by U.S. law and the laws of the non-U.S. jurisdictions in which the Company offers defined benefit plans.

The target asset allocation for the Company's U.S. Plan was 62% equities and equity alternatives and 38% fixed income and at March 31, 2015, the actual allocation for the Company's U.S. Plan was 61% equities and equity alternatives and 39% fixed income. The target asset allocation for the Company's U.K. Plans, which comprises approximately 83% of non-U.S. Plan assets, is 48% equities and equity alternatives and 52% fixed income. At March 31, 2015, the actual allocation for the U.K. Plans was 47% equities and equity alternatives and 53% fixed income. The assets of the Company's defined benefit plans are diversified and are managed in accordance with applicable laws and with the goal of maximizing the plans' real return within acceptable risk parameters. The Company generally uses threshold-based portfolio re-balancing to ensure the actual portfolio remains consistent with target asset allocation ranges.

The components of the net periodic benefit cost for defined benefit and other post-retirement plans are as follows:



Combined U.S. and significant non-U.S. Plans	Pension						Post-retirement
For the Three Months Ended March 31,	Benefits						Benefits
(In millions of dollars)	2015			2014			2015			2014
Service cost	$	52		$	61		$	1		$	1
Interest cost	146			161			2			3
Expected return on plan assets	(243		)	(248		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service credit	—			(3		)	—			—
Recognized actuarial loss	76			51			—			—
Net periodic benefit cost	$	31		$	22		$	3		$	4
Curtailment (credit)	—			(65		)	—			—
Plan termination	—			—			(128		)	—
Total cost (credit)	$	31		$	(43	)	$	(125	)	$	4

U.S. Plans only	Pension						Post-retirement
For the Three Months Ended March 31,	Benefits						Benefits
(In millions of dollars)	2015			2014			2015			2014
Service cost	$	30		$	22		$	1		$	—
Interest cost	62			63			1			2
Expected return on plan assets	(92		)	(86		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service credit	—			(2		)	—			—
Recognized actuarial loss	45			26			—			—
Net periodic benefit cost	$	45		$	23		$	2		$	2
Plan termination	—			—			(128		)	—
Total cost (credit)	$	45		$	23		$	(126	)	$	2

In March 2015, the Company amended its U.S. Post-65 retiree medical reimbursement plan (the "RRA plan"), resulting in its termination, with benefits to certain participants paid through December 31, 2016. As a result of the termination of the RRA plan, the Company recognized a net credit of approximately $125 million in the first quarter of 2015.



Significant non-U.S. Plans only	Pension						Post-retirement
For the Three Months Ended March 31,	Benefits						Benefits
(In millions of dollars)	2015			2014			2015		2014
Service cost	$	22		$	39		$	—	$	1
Interest cost	84			98			1		1
Expected return on plan assets	(151		)	(162		)	—		—
Amortization of prior service cost	—			(1		)	—		—
Recognized actuarial loss	31			25			—		—
Net periodic benefit cost	$	(14	)	$	(1	)	$	1	$	2
Curtailment (credit)	—			(65		)	—		—
Total (credit) cost	$	(14	)	$	(66	)	$	1	$	2

After completion of a consultation period with affected colleagues, in January 2014, the Company amended its U.K. defined benefit pension plans to close those plans to future benefit accruals effective August 1, 2014 and replaced those plans, along with its existing U.K. defined contribution plans, with a new, comprehensive defined contribution arrangement. This change resulted in a curtailment of the U.K. defined benefit plans, and as required under GAAP, the Company re-measured the defined benefit plans’ assets and liabilities at the amendment date, based on assumptions and market conditions at that date. As a result of the re-measurement, the projected benefit obligation ("PBO") increased by approximately $147 million and the funded status decreased by approximately $137 million. The change in the PBO and in the funded status relates primarily to a decrease in the discount rate at the re-measurement date. The net periodic benefit costs recognized in 2014 were the weighted average resulting from the December 31, 2013 measurement and the January 2014 re-measurement. The Company recognized a curtailment gain of $65 million in the first quarter of 2014, primarily resulting from the recognition of the remaining unamortized prior service credit related to a plan amendment made in December 2012. This gain was mostly offset by the cost of a transition benefit for certain employees most impacted by the amendment, which is not part of net periodic pension cost.

The weighted average actuarial assumptions utilized to calculate the net periodic benefit costs for the U.S. and significant non-U.S. defined benefit plans are as follows:



Combined U.S. and significant non-U.S. Plans	Pension Benefits				Post-retirement Benefits
March 31,	2015		2014		2015		2014
Weighted average assumptions:
Expected return on plan assets	7.25	%	7.53	%	—	%	—	%
Discount rate	3.79	%	4.74	%	4.08	%	5.03	%
Rate of compensation increase	2.42	%	2.64	%	—	%	—	%

The Company made approximately $42 million of contributions to its U.S. and non-U.S. defined benefit plans in the first three months of 2015. The Company expects to contribute approximately $152 million to its non-qualified U.S. pension and non-U.S. pension plans during the remainder of 2015.