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PENSION PLANS AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2015
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]  
PENSION PLANS AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS
PENSION PLANS AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Most of our employees participate in defined contribution pension plans.  We provide a contribution to an individual retirement contribution account maintained with the Contributing Employee Ownership Plan (CEOP) primarily equal to 5% of the employee’s eligible compensation if such employee is less than age 45, and 7.5% of the employee’s eligible compensation if such employee is age 45 or older.  The defined contribution pension plans expense was $4.6 million and $4.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and $8.9 million and $8.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

A portion of our bargaining hourly employees continue to participate in our domestic defined benefit pension plans under a flat-benefit formula.  Our funding policy for the defined benefit pension plans is consistent with the requirements of federal laws and regulations.  Our foreign subsidiaries maintain pension and other benefit plans, which are consistent with statutory practices.  Our defined benefit pension plan provides that if, within three years following a change of control of Olin, any corporate action is taken or filing made in contemplation of, among other things, a plan termination or merger or other transfer of assets or liabilities of the plan, and such termination, merger, or transfer thereafter takes place, plan benefits would automatically be increased for affected participants (and retired participants) to absorb any plan surplus (subject to applicable collective bargaining requirements).

We also provide certain postretirement health care (medical) and life insurance benefits for eligible active and retired domestic employees.  The health care plans are contributory with participants’ contributions adjusted annually based on medical rates of inflation and plan experience.

 
Pension Benefits
 
Other Postretirement
Benefits
 
Three Months Ended
June 30,
 
Three Months Ended
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Components of Net Periodic Benefit (Income) Cost
($ in millions)
Service cost
$
1.3

 
$
1.3

 
$
0.3

 
$
0.3

Interest cost
20.6

 
21.8

 
0.7

 
0.8

Expected return on plans’ assets
(35.7
)
 
(34.9
)
 
—

 
—

Amortization of prior service cost
0.1

 
0.1

 
—

 
(0.1
)
Recognized actuarial loss
7.4

 
5.8

 
0.9

 
1.0

Net periodic benefit (income) cost
$
(6.3
)
 
$
(5.9
)
 
$
1.9

 
$
2.0




 
Pension Benefits
 
Other Postretirement
Benefits
 
Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Components of Net Periodic Benefit (Income) Cost
($ in millions)
Service cost
$
2.9

 
$
2.7

 
$
0.6

 
$
0.6

Interest cost
41.2

 
43.4

 
1.3

 
1.5

Expected return on plans’ assets
(71.3
)
 
(69.8
)
 
—

 
—

Amortization of prior service cost
0.1

 
0.1

 
—

 
(0.1
)
Recognized actuarial loss
14.9

 
11.3

 
1.8

 
2.0

Curtailment
0.1

 
—

 
0.1

 
—

Net periodic benefit (income) cost
$
(12.1
)
 
$
(12.3
)
 
$
3.8

 
$
4.0



For the six months ended June 30, 2015, we recorded a curtailment charge of $0.2 million associated with permanently closing a portion of the Becancour, Canada chlor alkali facility that has been shut down since late June 2014. This charge was included in restructuring charges for the six months ended June 30, 2015.

We made cash contributions to our Canadian qualified defined benefit pension plan of $0.3 million and $0.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.