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 in accordance with applicable law.

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, 2018 the actual allocation for the Company's U.S. Plan was 63% equities and equity alternatives and 37% fixed income. The target allocation for the U.K. Plans at September 30, 2018 was 34% equities and equity alternatives and 66% fixed income. At September 30, 2018, the actual allocation for the U.K. Plans was 37% equities and equity alternatives and 63% fixed income. The Company's U.K. Plans comprised approximately 81% of non-U.S. plan assets at December 31, 2017. 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)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Service cost	$	8		$	19		$	1		$	—
Interest cost	114			125			—			1
Expected return on plan assets	(213		)	(232		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service (credit) cost	—			—			(1		)	1
Recognized actuarial loss	36			42			1			—
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(55	)	$	(46	)	$	1		$	2
Settlement loss	—			1			—			—
Total (credit) cost	$	(55	)	$	(45	)	$	1		$	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)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Service cost	$	25		$	56		$	1		$	—
Interest cost	349			371			2			3
Expected return on plan assets	(652		)	(686		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service (credit) cost	(1		)	(1		)	(3		)	2
Recognized actuarial loss	110			125			1			—
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(169	)	$	(135	)	$	1		$	5
Curtailment gain	—			(1		)	—			—
Settlement loss	—			2			—			—
Total (credit) cost	$	(169	)	$	(134	)	$	1		$	5

As discussed in Note 18, effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted the new guidance that changes the presentation of net periodic pension cost and net periodic post-retirement cost (''net periodic benefit costs"). The new guidance requires employers to report the service cost component of net periodic benefit costs in the same line item as other compensation costs in the income statement. The other components of net periodic benefit costs are required to be presented in the income statement separately from the service cost component and outside a subtotal of income from operations. The new guidance requires retrospective application for the presentation of the service cost component and the other components of net periodic benefit costs. Accordingly, the Company has reclassified prior period information in the following chart to conform with the current year's presentation:



Amounts Recorded in the Consolidated Statement of Income
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)	2018			2017			2018		2017
Compensation and benefits expense (Operating income)	$	8		$	19		$	1	$	—
Other net benefit (credits) cost	(63		)	(64		)	—		2
Total (credit) cost	$	(55	)	$	(45	)	$	1	$	2



Amounts Recorded in the Consolidated Statement of Income
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)	2018			2017			2018		2017
Compensation and benefits expense (Operating income)	$	25		$	56		$	1	$	—
Other net benefit (credits) cost	(194		)	(190		)	—		5
Total (credit) cost	$	(169	)	$	(134	)	$	1	$	5



U.S. Plans only	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
For the Three Months Ended September 30,	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
(In millions)	2018			2017			2018		2017
Service cost	$	—		$	—		$	—	$	—
Interest cost	58			66			—		—
Expected return on plan assets	(89		)	(89		)	—		—
Amortization of prior service (credit) cost	—			—			—		1
Recognized actuarial loss (gain)	14			9			—		—
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(17	)	$	(14	)	$	—	$	1



U.S. Plans only	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
For the Nine Months Ended September 30,	Pension Benefits						Post-retirement Benefits
(In millions)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Service cost	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Interest cost	176			198			1			1
Expected return on plan assets	(268		)	(268		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service (credit) cost	—			—			(1		)	3
Recognized actuarial loss (gain)	41			28			—			(1		)
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(51	)	$	(42	)	$	—		$	3



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)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Service cost	$	8		$	19		$	1		$	—
Interest cost	56			59			—			1
Expected return on plan assets	(124		)	(143		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service (credit) cost	—			—			(1		)	—
Recognized actuarial loss	22			33			1			—
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(38	)	$	(32	)	$	1		$	1
Settlement loss	—			1			—			—
Total (credit) cost	$	(38	)	$	(31	)	$	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)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Service cost	$	25		$	56		$	1		$	—
Interest cost	173			173			1			2
Expected return on plan assets	(384		)	(418		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service credit	(1		)	(1		)	(2		)	(1		)
Recognized actuarial loss	69			97			1			1
Net periodic benefit (credit) cost	$	(118	)	$	(93	)	$	1		$	2
Curtailment gain	—			(1		)	—			—
Settlement loss	—			2			—			—
Total (credit) cost	$	(118	)	$	(92	)	$	1		$	2

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
Combined U.S. and significant non-U.S. plans	Pension Benefits				Post-retirement Benefits
September 30,	2018		2017		2018		2017
Weighted average assumptions:
Expected return on plan assets	5.83	%	6.64	%	—		—
Discount Rate	3.07	%	3.40	%	3.21	%	3.64	%
Rate of compensation increase	1.73	%	1.77	%	—		—

The Company made approximately $87 million of contributions to its U.S. and non-U.S. defined benefit plans in the first nine months of 2018. The Company expects to contribute approximately $22 million to its U.S. pension and non-U.S. pension plans during the remainder of 2018.

Defined Contribution Plans

The Company maintains certain defined contribution plans ("DC Plans") for its employees, the most significant being in the U.S. and the U.K. The cost of the U.S. DC Plans was $100 million and $99 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The cost of the U.K. DC Plans was $61 million and $56 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.