Equity

Common stock

The changes in number of common stock shares, issued, held in treasury and outstanding are as follows for the periods indicated:



	Issued	Held In Treasury		Outstanding
Balance, December 31, 2018	79,137,758	16,323,390		62,814,368
Common stock acquired	—	344,237		(344,237	)
Stock-based compensation ⁽¹⁾	—	(74,216	)	74,216
Balance, March 31, 2019	79,137,758	16,593,411		62,544,347



	Issued	Held In Treasury		Outstanding
Balance, December 31, 2017	79,137,758	14,685,663		64,452,095
Stock-based compensation ⁽¹⁾	—	(60,678	)	60,678
Balance, March 31, 2018	79,137,758	14,624,985		64,512,773


(1)	Represents net shares issued from treasury pursuant to the Company’s equity-based compensation programs.

Common Stock Held in Treasury

Common stock held in treasury is accounted for at average cost. Gains resulting from the reissuance of common stock held in treasury are credited to additional paid-in capital. Losses resulting from the reissuance of common stock held in treasury are charged first to additional paid-in capital to the extent the Company has previously recorded gains on treasury share transactions, then to retained earnings.

On January 24, 2019, RGA’s board of directors authorized a share repurchase program for up to $400.0 million of RGA’s outstanding common stock. The authorization was effective immediately and does not have an expiration date. During the three months ended March 31, 2019, RGA repurchased 0.3 million shares of common stock under this program for $50.0 million.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The balance of and changes in each component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (“AOCI”) for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 are as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Income Tax
	Accumulated Currency Translation Adjustments			Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) of Investments⁽¹⁾			Pension and Postretirement Benefits			Total
Balance, December 31, 2018	$	(168,698	)	$	856,159		$	(50,698	)	$	636,763
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications	18,462			1,437,058			(1,787		)	1,453,733
Amounts reclassified to (from) AOCI				(14,694		)	1,286			(13,408		)
Deferred income tax benefit (expense)	2,924			(314,153		)	106			(311,123		)
Balance, March 31, 2019	$	(147,312	)	$	1,964,370		$	(51,093	)	$	1,765,965



	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Income Tax
	Accumulated Currency Translation Adjustments			Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) of Investments⁽¹⁾			Pension and Postretirement Benefits			Total
Balance, December 31, 2017	$	(86,350	)	$	2,200,661		$	(50,680	)	$	2,063,631
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications	5,696			(827,701		)	(1,910		)	(823,915		)
Amounts reclassified to (from) AOCI	—			21,274			1,346			22,620
Deferred income tax benefit (expense)	(6,856		)	172,823			93			166,060
Balance, March 31, 2018	$	(87,510	)	$	1,567,057		$	(51,151	)	$	1,428,396


(1)	Includes cash flow hedges of $(1,902) and $8,788 as of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, and $20,662 and $2,619 as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. See Note 5 - “Derivative Instruments” for additional information on cash flow hedges.

The following table presents the amounts of AOCI reclassifications for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 (dollars in thousands):



	Amount Reclassified from AOCI
	Three months ended March 31,
Details about AOCI Components	2019			2018			Affected Line Item in Statement of Income
Net unrealized investment gains (losses):
Net unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities	$	(273	)	$	(14,456	)	Investment related gains (losses), net
Cash flow hedges - Interest rate	469			(370		)	(1)
Cash flow hedges - Currency/Interest rate	25			144			(1)
Deferred policy acquisition costs attributed to unrealized gains and losses	14,473			(6,592		)	(2)
Total	14,694			(21,274		)
Provision for income taxes	(3,006		)	4,678
Net unrealized gains (losses), net of tax	$	11,688		$	(16,596	)
Amortization of defined benefit plan items:
Prior service cost (credit)	$	269		$	246		(3)
Actuarial gains/(losses)	(1,555		)	(1,592		)	(3)
Total	(1,286		)	(1,346		)
Provision for income taxes	270			283
Amortization of defined benefit plans, net of tax	$	(1,016	)	$	(1,063	)

Total reclassifications for the period	$	10,672		$	(17,659	)


(1)	See Note 5 - “Derivative Instruments” for additional information on cash flow hedges.


(2)	This AOCI component is included in the computation of the deferred policy acquisition cost. See Note 8 – “Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs” of the 2018 Annual Report for additional details.


(3)	This AOCI component is included in the computation of the net periodic pension cost. See Note 10 – “Employee Benefit Plans” for additional deta