8.	Employee Benefits

 

We maintain non-contributory defined benefit pension plans for many of our employees. In addition, we maintain postretirement health care and life insurance plans for our retirees and their dependents, which are both contributory and non-contributory, and include a limit on our share of the cost for certain recent and future retirees. In accordance with our accounting policy for pension and other postretirement benefits, operating expenses include pension and benefit related credits and/or charges based on actuarial assumptions, including projected discount rates and an estimated return on plan assets. These estimates are updated in the fourth quarter or upon a remeasurement event to reflect actual return on plan assets and updated actuarial assumptions. The adjustment will be recognized in our consolidated statement of income during the fourth quarter or upon a remeasurement event pursuant to our accounting policy for the recognition of actuarial gains and losses.

 

Net Periodic Cost

The following table summarizes the benefit (income) cost related to our pension and postretirement health care and life insurance plans:

 

(dollars in millions)		Pension								Health Care and Life
Three Months Ended March 31,		2016				2015				2016				2015
Service cost		$	80			$	94			$	61			$	81
Amortization of prior service credit			(1	)			1				(73	)			(72	)
Expected return on plan assets			(271	)			(317	)			(15	)			(25	)
Interest cost			186				243				224				279
Remeasurement loss, net			165				–				–				–
Total		$	159			$	21			$	197			$	263

Effective January 1, 2016, we changed the method we use to estimate the interest component of net periodic benefit cost for pension and other postretirement benefits. Historically, we estimated the interest cost component utilizing a single weighted-average discount rate derived from the yield curve used to measure the benefit obligation at the beginning of the period. We have elected to utilize a full yield curve approach in the estimation of interest cost by applying the specific spot rates along the yield curve used in the determination of the benefit obligation to the relevant projected cash flows. We have made this change to provide a more precise measurement of interest cost by improving the correlation between projected benefit cash flows to the corresponding spot yield curve rates. We have accounted for this change as a change in accounting estimate and accordingly will account for it prospectively.

For the three months ended March 31, 2016, the impact of this change was a reduction of the interest cost component of net periodic benefit cost and an increase to Net income of approximately $0.1 billion. The use of the full yield curve approach does not impact how we measure our total benefit obligations at December 31 or our annual net periodic benefit cost as any change in the interest cost component is completely offset by the actuarial gain or loss measured at year end which is immediately recognized in our consolidated statement of income. Accordingly, this change in estimate will not impact our income from continuing operations, net income or earnings per share as measured on an annual basis.

Pension Remeasurement

During the three months ended March 31, 2016, we recorded a net pre-tax pension remeasurement charge of approximately $0.2 billion in accordance with our accounting policy to recognize actuarial gains and losses in the period in which they occur. The pension remeasurement charge relates to settlements for employees who received lump-sum distributions in one of Verizon’s seven defined benefit pension plans. The pension remeasurement charge was primarily driven by an approximately 43 basis point decrease in our discount rate assumption used to determine the current year liabilities of this pension plan. Our weighted-average discount rate assumption decreased from 4.60% at December 31, 2015 to 4.21% at March 31, 2016.

Severance Payments

During the three months ended March 31, 2016, we paid severance benefits of $0.3 billion. At March 31, 2016, we had a remaining severance liability of $0.5 billion, a portion of which includes future contractual payments to employees separated as of March 31, 2016.

Employer Contributions

During the three months ended March 31, 2016, we contributed $0.3 billion to our other postretirement benefit plans and $0.1 billion to our qualified pension plans. The contributions to our nonqualified pension plans were not material during the three months ended March 31, 2016. There have been no material changes with respect to the qualified and nonqualified pension contributions in 2016 as previously disclosed in Part II. Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.