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 pension 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 such plans.

The target asset allocation for the Company's U.S. Plan was 64% equities and equity alternatives and 36% fixed income and at September 30, 2017, the actual allocation for the Company's U.S. Plan was 65% equities and equity alternatives and 35% fixed income. The target allocation for the U.K. plans at September 30, 2017 was 46% equities and equity alternatives and 54% fixed income. At September 30, 2017, the actual allocation for the U.K. Plans was 47% equities and equity alternatives and 53% fixed income. The Company's U.K. Plans comprised approximately 81% of non-U.S. plan assets at December 31, 2016. 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 Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
For the Three Months Ended September 30,	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
(In millions)	2017			2016			2017		2016
Service cost	$	19		$	43		$	—	$	1
Interest cost	125			132			1		—
Expected return on plan assets	(232		)	(232		)	—		—
Amortization of prior service cost	—			1			1		1
Recognized actuarial loss	42			43			—		—
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(46	)	$	(13	)	$	2	$	2
Settlement loss	1			—			—		—
Total (credit) cost	$	(45	)	$	(13	)	$	2	$	2

Combined U.S. and significant non-U.S. plans	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
For the Nine Months Ended September 30,	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
(In millions)	2017			2016			2017		2016
Service cost	$	56		$	133		$	—	$	1
Interest cost	371			407			3		3
Expected return on plan assets	(686		)	(715		)	—		—
Amortization of prior service (credit) cost	(1		)	—			2		3
Recognized actuarial loss (gain)	125			127			—		(1		)
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(135	)	$	(48	)	$	5	$	6
Curtailment gain	(1		)	(5		)	—		—
Settlement loss	2			1			—		—
Total (credit) cost	$	(134	)	$	(52	)	$	5	$	6

U.S. Plans only	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
For the Three Months Ended September 30,	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
(In millions)	2017			2016			2017		2016
Service cost	$	—		$	26		$	—	$	—
Interest cost	66			66			—		—
Expected return on plan assets	(89		)	(95		)	—		—
Amortization of prior service cost	—			—			1		1
Recognized actuarial loss	9			19			—		—
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(14	)	$	16		$	1	$	1



U.S. Plans only	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
For the Nine Months Ended September 30,	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
(In millions)	2017			2016			2017			2016
Service cost	$	—		$	79		$	—		$	—
Interest cost	198			198			1			1
Expected return on plan assets	(268		)	(285		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service cost	—			—			3			3
Recognized actuarial loss (gain)	28			55			(1		)	(1		)
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(42	)	$	47		$	3		$	3

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 defined benefit plans were merged effective December 30, 2016.



Significant non-U.S. plans only	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
For the Three Months Ended September 30,	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
(In millions)	2017			2016			2017		2016
Service cost	$	19		$	17		$	—	$	1
Interest cost	59			66			1		—
Expected return on plan assets	(143		)	(137		)	—		—
Amortization of prior service cost	—			1			—		—
Recognized actuarial loss	33			24			—		—
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(32	)	$	(29	)	$	1	$	1
Settlement loss	1			—			—		—
Total (credit) cost	$	(31	)	$	(29	)	$	1	$	1



Significant non-U.S. plans only	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
For the Nine Months Ended September 30,	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
(In millions)	2017			2016			2017			2016
Service cost	$	56		$	54		$	—		$	1
Interest cost	173			209			2			2
Expected return on plan assets	(418		)	(430		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service credit	(1		)	—			(1		)	—
Recognized actuarial loss	97			72			1			—
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(93	)	$	(95	)	$	2		$	3
Curtailment gain	(1		)	(5		)	—			—
Settlement loss	2			1			—			—
Total (credit) cost	$	(92	)	$	(99	)	$	2		$	3

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 them 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
September 30,	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 $193 million of contributions to its U.S. and non-U.S. defined benefit plans in the first nine months of 2017. The Company expects to contribute approximately $63 million to its U.S. pension and non-U.S. pension plans during the remainder of 2017.

Defined Contribution Plans

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 $99 million and $56 million, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.