PENSION AND POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

The following tables present information for our material defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans:

Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost

	U. S. Pension Plans									Non-U. S. Pension Plans									Other Postretirement Plans
	Year Ended December 31,									Year Ended December 31,									Year Ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017			2019			2018			2017			2019			2018			2017
	(In millions)
Components of periodic benefit cost:
Service cost	$	-		$	-		$	-		$	11		$	8		$	-		$	-		$	-			$	-
Interest cost		19			18			20			18			12			1			1			1				-
Expected return on plan assets		(17	)		(19	)		(20	)		(23	)		(17	)		(1	)		-			-				-
Amortization of prior service costs		-			-			-			-			-			-			(1	)		-				-
Actuarial loss (gain)⁽¹⁾		(21	)		15			(5	)		30			33			-			(2	)		(1	)			-
Net periodic benefit cost (income) ^{(2) (3}⁾	$	(19	)	$	14		$	(5	)	$	36		$	36		$	-		$	(2	)	$	-			$	-

⁽¹⁾	Actuarial loss for 2019 was $6 million and was primarily associated with loss in the Netherlands plan ($37 million) partially offset by actuarial gains in the United States ($23 million) and the United Kingdom ($7 million) plans.

⁽²⁾

The components of periodic benefit cost (income) other than the service cost component are included within Other non-operating expense (income) in our Statements of Operations. The service cost component is included in Cost of operations and SG&A expenses, in our Statements of Operations, along with other compensation costs rendered by the participating employees.

⁽³⁾	Net periodic benefit cost for 2018 included expense of $37 million for the acquired CB&I plans from the Combination Date through December 31, 2018.

Change in Projected Benefit Obligation and Plan Assets

	U. S. Pension Plans							Non-U. S. Pension Plans								Other Postretirement Plans
	2019			2018				2019				2018				2019				2018
	(In millions)
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	481			$	511			$	902			$	-			$	20			$	-
Acquisition ⁽¹⁾		-				16				-				933				-				31
Service cost		-				-				11				8				-				-
Interest cost		19				18				18				12				1				1
Actuarial loss (gain)		40				(27	)			96				(7	)			(2	)			(1	)
Prior service cost ⁽²⁾		-				-				-				5				-				(11	)
Plan participants' contribution		-				-				3				2				-				1
Benefits paid		(37	)			(37	)			(38	)			(27	)			(1	)			(1	)
Currency translation		-				-				-				(24	)			-				-
Projected benefit obligation at end of year	$	503			$	481			$	992			$	902			$	18			$	20

Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	450			$	497			$	703			$	1			$	-			$	-
Acquisition ⁽¹⁾		-				12				-				763				-				-
Actual return (loss) on plan assets		78				(23	)			90				(23	)			-				-
Company contributions		1				1				14				5				1				1
Plan participants' contributions		-				-				3				2				-				-
Benefits paid		(37	)			(37	)			(38	)			(25	)			(1	)			(1	)
Currency translation		-				-				3				(20	)			-				-
Fair value of plan assets at end of year		492				450				775				703				-				-
Net funded status	$	(11	)		$	(31	)		$	(217	)		$	(199	)		$	(18	)		$	(20	)

Amounts recognized in balance sheet consist of:
Prepaid benefit cost within Other non-current assets	$	9			$	-			$	9			$	4			$	-			$	-
Accrued benefit cost within accrued liabilities		(1	)			(2	)			(2	)			(2	)			(2	)			(2	)
Accrued benefit cost within Other non-current liabilities		(19	)			(29	)			(224	)			(201	)			(16	)			(18	)
Net funded status recognized	$	(11	)		$	(31	)		$	(217	)		$	(199	)		$	(18	)		$	(20	)

Unrecognized net prior service cost (credits)	$	-			$	-			$	4			$	4			$	(10	)		$	(11	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (income), before taxes	$	-			$	-			$	4			$	4			$	(10	)		$	(11	)

⁽¹⁾	Acquisition amounts include the benefit obligation and plan assets at the Combination Date associated with acquired CB&I pension plans.

⁽²⁾	Prior service cost for 2018 primarily related to plan changes for our plans in the United Kingdom and our U.S. retiree welfare plan. Prior service cost for plan changes is deferred to AOCI and amortized into Other non-operating expense (income).

Summary of Defined Benefit Plans with Accumulated Benefit Obligation in Excess of Plan Assets

The following table includes summary information for those defined benefit plans with an accumulated benefit obligation in excess of plan assets:

	U. S. Pension Plans				Non-U. S Pension Plans				Other Postretirement Plans
	2019⁽¹⁾		2018		2019		2018		2019		2018
	(In millions)
Projected benefit obligation	$	32	$	481	$	877	$	796	$	17	$	20
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	32	$	481	$	854	$	777	$	17	$	20
Fair value of plan assets	$	12	$	450	$	651	$	594	$	-	$	-

⁽¹⁾	The decrease from 2018 to 2019 primarily related to our U.S. qualified plan being in a net funded position in 2019, as the plan’s fair value exceeded its accumulated benefit obligation.

Weighted-Average Assumptions Used to Measure Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans and Summary of Sensitivity Changes in Certain Assumptions in Pension Plans

Plan Assumptions —The following table presents the weighted-average assumptions used to measure our defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans:

	U. S. Pension Plans						Non-U. S. Pension Plans						Other Postretirement Plans
	2019			2018			2019			2018			2019			2018
Weighted average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit obligations at December 31,
Discount rate		3.0	%		4.1	%		1.3	%		2.1	%		3.1	%		4.1	%
Rate of compensation increase ⁽¹⁾	N/A			N/A				1.3	%		1.6	%	N/A			N/A
Weighted average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost:
Discount rate		4.1	%		3.6	%		2.1	%		2.1	%		4.1	%		4.1	%
Expected return on plan assets ⁽²⁾		4.0	%		4.0	%		3.5	%		3.5	%	N/A			N/A
Rate of compensation increase ⁽¹⁾	N/A			N/A				1.3	%		1.6	%	N/A			N/A

⁽¹⁾	The rate of compensation increase relates solely to the defined benefit plans that factor compensation increases into the valuation.

⁽²⁾	The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets was derived using historical returns by asset category and expectations of future performance.

The following table illustrates the sensitivity to changes in certain assumptions, holding all other assumptions constant, for our pension plans.

	Effect on
	Pretax Pension		Pension Benefit
	Expense in		Obligation at
	2019 ⁽¹⁾		December 31, 2019
	(in millions)
25-basis-point change in discount rate	$	52	$	53

⁽¹⁾	A 25-basis-point change in the expected rate of return on plan assets would not have a material impact on pretax pension expense in 2019.

Fair Value of Plan Assets by Investment Category

The following tables present the fair values of our plan assets by investment category and valuation hierarchy level as of December 31, 2019 and 2018:

	December 31, 2019
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Asset category	(In millions)
Fixed income securities:
U.S. fixed income securities	$	168	$	228	$	4	$	400
International government bonds ⁽¹⁾		-		254		-		254
International corporate bonds ⁽²⁾		-		99		-		99
International mortgage funds ⁽³⁾		-		66		-		66
All other fixed income securities ⁽⁴⁾		-		46		-		46
Equity securities:
U.S. equities		73		-		-		73
International funds ⁽⁵⁾		-		197		-		197
Emerging markets growth funds		-		16		-		16
U.S. equity funds		-		15		-		15
Other investments:
Asset allocation funds ⁽⁶⁾		-		86		-		86
Cash and accrued Items		15				-		15
Total Investments	$	256	$	1,007	$	4	$	1,267

	December 31, 2018
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Asset category	(In millions)
Fixed income securities:
U.S. fixed income securities	$	148	$	223	$	6	$	377
International government bonds		-		245		-		245
International corporate bonds		-		94		-		94
International mortgage funds		-		69		-		69
All other fixed income securities		-		41		-		41
Equity securities:
U.S. equities		57		-		-		57
International funds		-		157		-		157
Emerging markets growth funds		-		13		-		13
U.S. equity funds		-		12		-		12
Other investments:
Asset allocation funds		-		74		-		74
Cash and accrued Items		14		-		-		14
Total Investments	$	219	$	928	$	6	$	1,153

The following provides descriptions for plan asset categories with significant balances in the tables above:

⁽¹⁾	Investments in predominately E.U. government securities and U.K. Treasury securities, with credit ratings primarily AAA.

⁽²⁾	Investments in European and U.K. fixed interest securities, with credit ratings of primarily BBB and above.

⁽³⁾	Investments in international mortgage funds.

⁽⁴⁾	Investments predominantly in various international fixed income obligations that are individually insignificant.

⁽⁵⁾	Investments in various funds that track international indices.

⁽⁶⁾	Investments in fixed income securities, equities and alternative asset classes, including commodities and property assets.

Expected Defined Benefit and Other Postretirement Plan Payments

Benefit Payments —The following table includes the expected defined benefit and other postretirement plan payments for the next 10 years:

	U. S. pension plans		Non-U. S. pension plans		Other postretirement plans
	(In millions)
Expected employer contributions to trusts of defined benefit plans:
2020	$	3	$	14	$	2
Expected benefit payments:
2020	$	37	$	35	$	2
2021		36		35		1
2022		36		36		1
2023		35		37		1
2024		34		38		1
2025-2029		159		192		5

Additional Information Regarding Significant Multi-Employer Defined Benefit Pension Plans

				Pension Protection Act (% Funded) ⁽¹⁾			Total Company Contributions ⁽²⁾				Expiration Date of Collective Bargaining Agreement ^{(3) (4)}
Pension Fund	EIN/Plan Number	Plan Year End	2019		2018	FIP/RP Plan	2019		2018
Boilermaker-Blacksmith National Pension Trust ⁽⁵⁾	48-6168020-001	12/31	Less Than 65%		65%-80%	Yes	$	11	$	6	Various
Boilermakers' National Pension Plan (Canada)	366708	12/31	N/A		N/A	N/A		2		1	04/19
All Other ⁽⁶⁾								2		3
Total							$	15	$	10

⁽¹⁾

Pension Protection Act Zone Status and FIP/RP plans are applicable to our U.S.-registered plans only, as these terms are not defined within Canadian pension legislation. In the United States, plans funded less than 65% are in the red zone, plans funded at least 65%, but less than 80%, are in the yellow zone, and plans funded at least 80% are in the green zone. The requirement for FIP or RP plans in the United States is based on the funding level or zone status of the applicable plan.

⁽²⁾

^{Our 2019 contributions as a percentage of total plan contributions were not available for any of our plans. The level of our contributions to each plan noted above varies from period to period based upon the level of work being performed that is covered under the applicable collective bargaining agreement.}

⁽³⁾	The expiration dates of our labor agreements associated with the plans noted as “Various” above vary based upon the duration of the applicable projects.

⁽⁴⁾	If a revised collective-bargaining agreement has not been concluded before the expiration date of this Agreement, it may be extended beyond that date to whatever extent may be mutually agreed to between the Union and the BCA of Alberta, or as provided by applicable laws, statutes or regulations.

⁽⁵⁾	^{For both the 2019 and 2018 plan years, the plan utilized an amortization extension. Additionally, in 2019, the plan adopted a rehabilitation plan to enable the plan to reach a funded status of 65% or greater by the end of the rehabilitation period ending in December 31, 2031.}

⁽⁶⁾	Our remaining contributions in 2019 to various U.S. and Canadian plans were individually immaterial.