The Company has certain non-contributory defined benefit pension plans for salaried and hourly employees in the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The Company uses a measurement date of October 31 for fair value purposes for its pension plans. The salaried employees plans’ benefits are based primarily on years of service and earnings. The hourly employees plans’ benefits are based primarily upon years of service. Certain benefit provisions are subject to collective bargaining. The Company contributes an amount that is not less than the minimum funding and not more than the maximum tax-deductible amount to these plans. Salaried employees in the United States who commence service on or after November 1, 2007 and various dates in the preceding five years for the non-U.S. plans are not eligible to participate in the defined benefit pension plans, but are eligible to participate in a defined contribution retirement program. The category “Other International” represents the noncontributory defined benefit pension plans in Canada and South Africa.

The following table presents the number of participants in the defined benefit plans (in thousands):

The discount rate is determined by developing a hypothetical portfolio of individual high-quality corporate bonds available at the measurement date, the coupon and principal payments of which would be sufficient to satisfy the plans’ expected future benefit payments as defined for the projected benefit obligation. The discount rate by country is equivalent to the average yield on that hypothetical portfolio of bonds and is a reflection of current market settlement rates on such high quality bonds, government treasuries, and annuity purchase rates. To determine the expected long-term rate of return on pension plan assets, the Company considers current and expected asset allocations, as well as historical and expected returns on various categories of plan assets. In developing future return expectations for the defined benefit pension plans’ assets; the Company formulates views on the future economic environment, both in the U.S. and globally. The Company evaluates general market trends and historical relationships among a number of key variables that impact asset class returns, such as expected earnings growth, inflation, valuations, yields and spreads, using both internal and external sources. The Company takes into account expected volatility by asset class and diversification across classes to determine expected overall portfolio results given current and expected allocations. The Company uses published mortality tables for determining the expected lives of plan participants and believe that the tables selected are most-closely associated with the expected lives of plan participants as the tables are based on the country in which the participant is employed.

We amortize experience gains and losses as well as the effects of changes in actuarial assumptions and plan provisions over a period no longer than the average future service of employees.

The components of net periodic pension cost include the following (Dollars in millions):

Benefit obligations are described in the following tables. Accumulated and projected benefit obligations (ABO and PBO) represent the obligations of a pension plan for past service as of the measurement date. ABO is the present value of benefits earned to date with benefits computed based on current compensation levels. PBO is ABO increased to reflect expected future compensation.

The following table sets forth the plans’ change in projected benefit obligation (Dollars in millions):

The following tables set forth the PBO, ABO, plan assets and instances where the ABO exceeds the plan assets for the respective years (Dollars in millions):

Future benefit payments for the Company's global plans, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, during the next five years, and in the aggregate for the five years thereafter, are as follows (Dollars in millions):

Plan assets

The investment policy reflects the long-term nature of the plans’ funding obligations. The assets are invested to provide the opportunity for both income and growth of principal. This objective is pursued as a long-term goal designed to provide required benefits for participants without undue risk. It is expected that this objective can be achieved through a well-diversified asset portfolio. All equity investments are made within the guidelines of quality, marketability and diversification mandated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and/or other relevant statutes. Investment managers are directed to maintain equity portfolios at a risk level approximately equivalent to that of the specific benchmark established for that portfolio.

The Company’s weighted average asset allocations at the measurement date and the target asset allocations by category are as follows:

The fair value of the pension plans’ investments is presented below. The inputs and valuation techniques used to measure the fair value of the assets are consistently applied and described in Note 10.

The following table presents the fair value measurements for the pension assets:

Financial statement presentation including other comprehensive income:

Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan

The Company has a supplemental employee retirement plan which is an unfunded plan providing supplementary retirement benefits primarily to certain executives and longer-service employees. The present benefit obligation of the supplemental employee retirement plan is included in the United States defined benefit pension plans above.

Postretirement Health Care and Life Insurance Benefits

The Company has certain postretirement unfunded health and life insurance benefit plans in the United States and South Africa. The Company uses a measurement date of October 31 for its postretirement benefit plans.

The following table presents the number of participants in the post-retirement health and life insurance benefit plan:

The discount rate actuarial assumptions at October 31 are used to measure the year-end benefit obligations and the pension costs for the subsequent year were as follows:

The components of net periodic cost for the postretirement benefits include the following (Dollars in millions):

Financial statement presentation included other comprehensive income (Dollars in millions):

The healthcare cost trend rates on gross eligible charges are as follows:

A one-percentage point change in assumed health care cost trend rates would have the following effects (Dollars in thousands):

Future benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, during the next five years, and in the aggregate for the five years thereafter, are expected to be as follows (Dollars in millions):