Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2016

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans

Note 11 — Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans

The Company and certain of its subsidiaries provide pension, health care and life insurance defined benefits to eligible retired employees, spouses and other eligible dependents through various domestic and foreign plans. The effect of its foreign pension and other postretirement benefit plans is immaterial to the Company's results of operations, liquidity and financial position. The Company froze its defined benefit postretirement medical plan in 2013 and its primary domestic pension plans in 2009.

As further discussed in Note 16, the Company and the Cigna Pension Plan are defendants in a class action lawsuit that has yet to be resolved. When the parties agree on a final plan amendment, the pension benefit obligation will be updated to reflect additional benefits resulting from this litigation.

For the six months ended June 30, 2016, the Company's unrecognized actuarial losses and prior service costs (reported in accumulated other comprehensive income) decreased by $28 million pre-tax in the aggregate ($19 million after-tax) resulting in an increase in shareholders' equity. This change was primarily a result of amortization.

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits. Components of net pension and net other postretirement benefit costs were as follows:

	Pension Benefits								Other Postretirement Benefits
	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended				Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	June 30,				June 30,				June 30,				June 30,
(In millions)	2016		2015		2016		2015		2016		2015		2016		2015
Service cost	$	1	$	-	$	1	$	1	$	-	$	-	$	-	$	-
Interest cost		49		49		99		97		2		2		5		5
Expected long-term return on plan assets		(62)		(67)		(124)		(133)		-		-		-		-
Amortization of:
Net loss from past experience		16		18		33		35		-		-		-		-
Prior service cost		-		-		-		-		-		-		(1)		(1)
Net cost	$	4	$	-	$	9	$	-	$	2	$	2	$	4	$	4

The Company funds its domestic qualified pension plans at least at the minimum amount required by the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The Company did not make any pension contributions during the six months ended June 30, 2016, and does not expect to make any pension contributions for the remainder of 2016.