Benefit Obligations
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]  
Benefit Obligations
Benefit Obligations
In November 2013, the Company announced it would amend its US postretirement health care plan to (a) eliminate eligibility for all current and future US non-union employees; (b) terminate its US postretirement health care plan on December 31, 2014 for all US participants; and (c) offer certain eligible US participants a lump-sum buyout payment if they irrevocably waive all future benefits under the US postretirement health care plan and end their participation before December 31, 2014. These actions generated a prior service credit of $92 million, which is included in Pension and postretirement benefits within Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net in the unaudited consolidated balance sheets.
Effective March 27, 2014, the Company eliminated eligibility for all current and future union employees at the Company's Narrows, Virginia facility in its US postretirement health care plan. These actions generated a prior service credit of $5 million, which is included in Pension and postretirement benefits within Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net in the unaudited consolidated balance sheets.
The prior service credits attributable to the Company's US postretirement health care plan are being amortized ratably into the consolidated statements of operations through December 31, 2014. The Company recognized $21 million and $62 million of prior service credit amortization during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, respectively, and made $1 million and $32 million in lump-sum buyout payments during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, respectively.
The components of net periodic benefit cost are as follows:
 
Three Months Ended September 30,
 
Nine Months Ended September 30,
 
2014
 
2013
 
2014
 
2013
 
Pension
Benefits
 
Post-retirement
Benefits
 
Pension
Benefits
 
Post-retirement
Benefits
 
Pension
Benefits
 
Post-retirement
Benefits
 
Pension
Benefits
 
Post-retirement
Benefits
 
(In $ millions)
 
(In $ millions)
Service cost
3

 
—

 
9

 
—

 
9

 
1

 
26

 
2

Interest cost
41

 
1

 
39

 
3

 
126

 
3

 
116

 
8

Expected return on plan assets
(54
)
 
—

 
(57
)
 
—

 
(162
)
 
—

 
(169
)
 
—

Amortization of prior service cost (credit), net
—

 
(21
)
 
—

 
—

 
—

 
(62
)
 
1

 
—

Total
(10
)
 
(20
)
 
(9
)
 
3

 
(27
)
 
(58
)
 
(26
)
 
10


Benefit obligation funding is as follows:
 
As of
September 30,
2014
 
Total
Expected
2014
 
(In $ millions)
Cash contributions to defined benefit pension plans
24

 
47

Benefit payments to nonqualified pension plans
17

 
22

Benefit payments to other postretirement benefit plans
42

 
54


The Company's estimates of its US defined benefit pension plan contributions reflect the provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
The Company participates in a multiemployer defined benefit plan in Germany covering certain employees. The Company's contributions to the multiemployer defined benefit plan are based on specified percentages of employee contributions and totaled $5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014.