Retirement Benefits

The Company maintains qualified and non-qualified defined benefit pension plans for some of 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 64% equities and equity alternatives and 36% fixed income and at March 31, 2017, the actual allocation for the Company's U.S. Plan was 64% equities and equity alternatives and 36% fixed income. The target asset allocation for the Company's U.K. Plans, which comprise approximately 81% of non-U.S. Plan assets at December 31, 2016, was 48% equities and equity alternatives and 52% fixed income. At March 31, 2017, 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)	2017			2016			2017		2016
Service cost	$	18		$	44		$	—	$	—
Interest cost	122			137			1		2
Expected return on plan assets	(224		)	(241		)	—		—
Amortization of prior service cost	—			—			1		1
Recognized actuarial loss (gain)	40			42			—		(1		)
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(44	)	$	(18	)	$	2	$	2
Curtailment gain	(1		)	—			—		—
Settlement loss	1			—			—		—
Total (credit) cost	$	(44	)	$	(18	)	$	2	$	2



U.S. Plans only	Pension						Post-retirement
For the Three Months Ended March 31,	Benefits						Benefits
(In millions)	2017			2016			2017		2016
Service cost	$	—		$	26		$	—	$	—
Interest cost	66			66			—		1
Expected return on plan assets	(89		)	(95		)	—		—
Amortization of prior service cost	—			—			1		1
Recognized actuarial loss (gain)	9			18			—		(1		)
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(14	)	$	15		$	1	$	1

In October 2016, the Company modified its U.S. defined benefit pension plans to discontinue further benefit accruals for participants after December 31, 2016. At the same time, the Company amended its U.S. defined contribution retirement plans for most of its U.S. employees to add an automatic Company contribution equal to 4% of eligible base pay beginning on January 1, 2017. This new Company contribution, together with the Company’s current matching contribution, provides eligible U.S. employees with the opportunity to receive a total contribution of up to 7% of eligible base pay. In addition, the U.S. qualified plans were merged effective December 30, 2016.



Significant non-U.S. Plans only	Pension						Post-retirement
For the Three Months Ended March 31,	Benefits						Benefits
(In millions)	2017			2016			2017		2016
Service cost	$	18		$	18		$	—	$	—
Interest cost	56			71			1		1
Expected return on plan assets	(135		)	(146		)	—		—
Recognized actuarial loss	31			24			—		—
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(30	)	$	(33	)	$	1	$	1
Curtailment gain	(1		)	—			—		—
Settlement loss	1			—			—		—
Total (credit) cost	$	(30	)	$	(33	)	$	1	$	1

In March 2017, the Company modified its defined benefit pension plans in Canada to discontinue further benefit accruals for participants after December 31, 2017 and replaced it with a defined contribution arrangement. The Company also amended its post-retirement benefits plan in Canada so that individuals who retire after April 1, 2019 will not be eligible to participate, except in certain situations. The Company re-measured the assets and liabilities of the plans, based on assumptions and market conditions on the amendment date.

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,	2017		2016		2017		2016
Weighted average assumptions:
Expected return on plan assets	6.64	%	7.07	%	—		—
Discount rate	3.40	%	4.11	%	3.64	%	4.12	%
Rate of compensation increase*	1.77	%	2.44	%	—		—

*The 2017 assumption does not include a rate of compensation increase for the U.S. defined benefit plans since future benefit accruals were discontinued for those plans after December 31, 2016.

The Company made approximately $56 million of contributions to its U.S. and non-U.S. defined benefit plans in the first three months of 2017. The Company expects to contribute approximately $200 million to its U.S. pension and non-U.S. pension plans during the remainder of 2017.

Defined Contribution Pans

The Company maintains certain defined contribution plans for its employees, the most significant being in the U.S. and the U.K. The cost of these U.S. and U.K. defined contribution plans was $54 million and $40 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.