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Employee Retirement Plans
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]  
Employee Retirement Plans
Employee Retirement Plans
The components of net pension and postretirement benefits costs are summarized in the following table:
 
Three months ended September 30,
 
Nine months ended September 30,
(millions)
2014
 
2013
 
2014
 
2013
Pension:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Service cost of benefits earned
$
9

 
$
10

 
$
27

 
$
29

Interest cost on projected benefit obligation
16

 
16

 
49

 
47

Expected return on plan assets
(20
)
 
(19
)
 
(60
)
 
(57
)
Net amortization
7

 
11

 
19

 
34

     Net pension cost
$
12

 
$
18

 
$
35

 
$
53

Postretirement:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Service cost of benefits earned
$
1

 
$
1

 
$
2

 
$
3

Interest cost on projected benefit obligation
1

 
2

 
5

 
5

Net amortization
(8
)
 
(9
)
 
(26
)
 
(26
)
     Net postretirement benefit
$
(6
)
 
$
(6
)
 
$
(19
)
 
$
(18
)

During the first nine months of 2014, we made cash contributions of $50 million to the USG Corporation Retirement Plan Trust, $8 million to our pension plan in Canada, and $2 million, in aggregate, to certain other domestic and foreign pension plans. We expect to make total contributions to our pension plans in 2014 of approximately $61 million.
In April 2014, we amended our U.S. postretirement benefit plan for those retiree medical plan participants who are pre-65 retirees, to defer the effective date that requires participants to begin purchasing individual coverage in the Affordable Insurance Exchanges or individual Medicare marketplace using a company-funded subsidy from January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2016. The financial statement impact of the plan amendment was immaterial.
In the fourth quarter of 2014, we expect to incur a settlement charge between $12 million and $14 million with respect to an early pension settlement for USG (U.K.) Ltd.’s pension plan that was previously frozen to permanently eliminate future benefit accruals. The settlement charge will be calculated on the day the annuity purchase occurs.