COMPANY-SPONSORED EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

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COMPANY-SPONSORED EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]
COMPANY-SPONSORED EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS	COMPANY-SPONSORED EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS We sponsor various retirement and pension plans, including defined benefit and defined contribution plans which cover our employees worldwide. U.S. Pension Benefits In the U.S. we maintain the following single-employer defined benefit pension plans: UPS Retirement Plan, UPS Pension Plan, UPS IBT Pension Plan and the UPS Excess Coordinating Benefit Plan, a non-qualified plan. The UPS Retirement Plan is noncontributory and includes substantially all eligible employees of participating domestic subsidiaries who are not members of a collective bargaining unit, as well as certain employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement. This plan generally provides for retirement benefits based on average compensation levels earned by employees prior to retirement. Benefits payable under this plan are subject to maximum compensation limits and the annual benefit limits for a tax qualified defined benefit plan as prescribed by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). The UPS Excess Coordinating Benefit Plan is a non-qualified plan that provides benefits to certain participants in the UPS Retirement Plan for amounts that exceed the benefit limits described above. The UPS Pension Plan is noncontributory and includes certain eligible employees of participating domestic subsidiaries and members of collective bargaining units that elect to participate in the plan. This plan generally provides for retirement benefits based on service credits earned by employees prior to retirement. The UPS IBT Pension Plan is noncontributory and includes employees that were previously members of the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund (“Central States Pension Fund”), a multiemployer pension plan, in addition to other eligible employees who are covered under certain collective bargaining agreements. U.S. Postretirement Medical Benefits We also sponsor postretirement medical plans in the U.S. that provide health care benefits to our retirees who meet certain eligibility requirements and who are not otherwise covered by multiemployer plans. Generally, this includes employees with at least 10 years of service who have reached age 55 and employees who are eligible for postretirement medical benefits from a Company-sponsored plan pursuant to collective bargaining agreements. We have the right to modify or terminate certain of these plans. These benefits have been provided to certain retirees on a noncontributory basis; however, in many cases, retirees are required to contribute all or a portion of the total cost of the coverage. International Pension Benefits We also sponsor various defined benefit plans covering certain of our international employees. The majority of our international obligations are for defined benefit plans in Canada and the United Kingdom. In addition, many of our international employees are covered by government-sponsored retirement and pension plans. We are not directly responsible for providing benefits to participants of government-sponsored plans. Defined Contribution Plans We also sponsor several defined contribution plans for all employees not covered under collective bargaining agreements, and for certain employees covered under collective bargaining agreements. The Company matches, in shares of UPS common stock or cash, a portion of the participating employees’ contributions. In early 2009, we suspended the company matching contributions to the primary employee defined contribution plan. A revised program of company matching contributions was reinstated effective January 1, 2011. Matching contributions charged to expense were $83, $80 and $4 million for 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Contributions are also made to defined contribution money purchase plans under certain collective bargaining agreements. Amounts charged to expense were $80, $76 and $78 million for 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Net Periodic Benefit Cost Information about net periodic benefit cost for the company-sponsored pension and postretirement benefit plans is as follows (in millions):   U.S. Pension Benefits   U.S. Postretirement Medical Benefits   International Pension Benefits   2012   2011   2010   2012   2011   2010   2012   2011   2010 Net Periodic Cost:                                   Service cost $ 998   $ 870   $ 723   $ 89   $ 89   $ 86   $ 41   $ 34   $ 24 Interest cost 1,410   1,309   1,199   208   207   214   41   39   34 Expected return on assets (1,970 )   (1,835 )   (1,381 )   (18 )   (16 )   (22 )   (47 )   (43 )   (36 ) Amortization of:                                   Transition obligation —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   — Prior service cost 173   171   172   5   7   4   2   1   1 Actuarial (gain) loss 4,388   736   70   374   —   —   69   91   42 Other —   —   —   —   —   —   (10 )   —   6 Net periodic benefit cost $ 4,999   $ 1,251   $ 783   $ 658   $ 287   $ 282   $ 96   $ 122   $ 71 Actuarial Assumptions The table below provides the weighted-average actuarial assumptions used to determine the net periodic benefit cost.   U.S. Pension Benefits   U.S. Postretirement Medical Benefits   International Pension Benefits   2012   2011   2010   2012   2011   2010   2012   2011   2010 Discount rate 5.64 %   5.98 %   6.58 %   5.47 %   5.77 %   6.43 %   4.63 %   5.36 %   5.84 % Rate of compensation increase 4.50 %   4.50 %   4.50 %   N/A   N/A   N/A   3.58 %   3.57 %   3.62 % Expected return on assets 8.75 %   8.75 %   8.75 %   8.75 %   8.75 %   8.75 %   7.20 %   7.31 %   7.25 % The table below provides the weighted-average actuarial assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations of our plans.   U.S. Pension Benefits   U.S. Postretirement Medical Benefits   International Pension Benefits   2012   2011   2012   2011   2012   2011 Discount rate 4.42 %   5.64 %   4.21 %   5.47 %   4.00 %   4.63 % Rate of compensation increase 4.16 %   4.50 %   N/A   N/A   3.03 %   3.58 % A discount rate is used to determine the present value of our future benefit obligations. To determine our discount rate for our U.S. pension and other postretirement benefit plans, we use a bond matching approach to select specific bonds that would satisfy our projected benefit payments. We believe the bond matching approach reflects the process we would employ to settle our pension and postretirement benefit obligations. For our international plans, the discount rate is determined by matching the expected cash flows of a sample plan of similar duration to a yield curve based on long-term, high quality fixed income debt instruments available as of the measurement date. For 2012, each basis point increase in the discount rate decreases the projected benefit obligation by approximately $57 million and $5 million for pension and postretirement medical benefits, respectively. These assumptions are updated each measurement date, which is typically annually. An assumption for expected return on plan assets is used to determine a component of net periodic benefit cost for the fiscal year. This assumption for our U.S. plans was developed using a long-term projection of returns for each asset class, and taking into consideration our target asset allocation. The expected return for each asset class is a function of passive, long-term capital market assumptions and excess returns generated from active management. The capital market assumptions used are provided by independent investment advisors, while excess return assumptions are supported by historical performance, fund mandates and investment expectations. In addition, we compare the expected return on asset assumption with the average historical rate of return these plans have been able to generate. For plans outside the U.S., consideration is given to local market expectations of long-term returns. Strategic asset allocations are determined by country, based on the nature of liabilities and considering the demographic composition of the plan participants. Health care cost trends are used to project future postretirement benefits payable from our plans. For year-end 2012 U.S. plan obligations, future postretirement medical benefit costs were forecasted assuming an initial annual increase of 7.5%, decreasing to 5.0% by the year 2018 and with consistent annual increases at those ultimate levels thereafter. Assumed health care cost trends can have a significant effect on the amounts reported for the U.S. postretirement medical plans. A one-percent change in assumed health care cost trend rates would have had the following effects on 2012 results (in millions):   1% Increase   1% Decrease Effect on total of service cost and interest cost $ 4   $ (4 ) Effect on postretirement benefit obligation $ 58   $ (69 ) Benefit Obligations and Fair Value of Plan Assets The following table provides a reconciliation of the changes in the plans’ benefit obligations and fair value of plan assets as of the respective measurement dates in each year (in millions).     U.S. Pension Benefits   U.S. Postretirement Medical Benefits   International Pension Benefits   2012   2011   2012   2011   2012   2011 Benefit Obligations:                       Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year $ 24,386   $ 21,342   $ 3,836   $ 3,597   $ 841   $ 680 Service cost 998   870   89   89   41   34 Interest cost 1,410   1,309   208   207   41   39 Gross benefits paid (774 )   (657 )   (233 )   (219 )   (20 )   (15 ) Plan participants’ contributions —   —   16   16   4   1 Plan amendments (2 )   3   1   (24 )   —   7 Actuarial (gain)/loss 5,850   1,519   495   170   112   99 Foreign currency exchange rate changes —   —   —   —   24   (4 ) Curtailments and settlements —   —   —   —   (5 )   — Other —   —   —   —   51   — Projected benefit obligation at end of year $ 31,868   $ 24,386   $ 4,412   $ 3,836   $ 1,089   $ 841                           U.S. Pension Benefits   U.S. Postretirement Medical Benefits   International Pension Benefits   2012   2011   2012   2011   2012   2011 Fair Value of Plan Assets:                       Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year $ 22,663   $ 20,092   $ 174   $ 233   $ 613   $ 561 Actual return on plan assets 2,684   1,956   19   9   56   10 Employer contributions 368   1,272   475   108   74   56 Plan participants’ contributions —   —   16   16   1   1 Gross benefits paid (774 )   (657 )   (233 )   (219 )   (20 )   (15 ) Foreign currency exchange rate changes —   —   —   —   20   — Curtailments and settlements —   —   —   —   (4 )   — Other —   —   9   27   61   — Fair value of plan assets at end of year $ 24,941   $ 22,663   $ 460   $ 174   $ 801   $ 613 Funded Status The following table discloses the funded status of our plans and the amounts recognized in our balance sheet as of December 31 (in millions):   U.S. Pension Benefits   U.S. Postretirement Medical Benefits   International Pension  Benefits   2012   2011   2012   2011   2012   2011 Funded Status:                       Fair value of plan assets $ 24,941   $ 22,663   $ 460   $ 174   $ 801   $ 613 Benefit obligation (31,868 )   (24,386 )   (4,412 )   (3,836 )   (1,089 )   (841 ) Funded status recognized at December 31 $ (6,927 )   $ (1,723 )   $ (3,952 )   $ (3,662 )   $ (288 )   $ (228 ) Funded Status Amounts Recognized in our Balance Sheet:                       Other non-current assets $ —   $ —   $ —   $ —   $ 26   $ 1 Other current liabilities (14 )   (13 )   (108 )   (93 )   (3 )   (3 ) Pension and postretirement benefit obligations (6,913 )   (1,710 )   (3,844 )   (3,569 )   (311 )   (226 ) Net liability at December 31 $ (6,927 )   $ (1,723 )   $ (3,952 )   $ (3,662 )   $ (288 )   $ (228 ) Amounts Recognized in AOCI:                       Unrecognized net prior service cost $ (1,318 )   $ (1,492 )   $ (79 )   $ (82 )   $ (13 )   $ (14 ) Unrecognized net actuarial loss (3,187 )   (2,439 )   (441 )   (307 )   (86 )   (52 ) Gross unrecognized cost at December 31 (4,505 )   (3,931 )   (520 )   (389 )   (99 )   (66 ) Deferred tax asset at December 31 1,694   1,479   196   146   26   16 Net unrecognized cost at December 31 $ (2,811 )   $ (2,452 )   $ (324 )   $ (243 )   $ (73 )   $ (50 ) The accumulated benefit obligation for our pension plans as of the measurement dates in 2012 and 2011 was $30.350 and $23.307 billion, respectively. Benefit payments under the pension plans include $16 and $14 million paid from employer assets in both 2012 and 2011. Benefit payments (net of participant contributions) under the postretirement medical benefit plans include $110 and $108 million paid from employer assets in 2012 and 2011, respectively. Such benefit payments from employer assets are also categorized as employer contributions. At December 31, 2012 and 2011, the projected benefit obligation, the accumulated benefit obligation, and the fair value of plan assets for pension plans with benefit obligations in excess of plan assets were as follows (in millions):   Projected Benefit Obligation Exceeds the Fair Value of  Plan Assets   Accumulated Benefit Obligation Exceeds the Fair Value of  Plan Assets 2012   2011   2012   2011 U.S. Pension Benefits               Projected benefit obligation $ 31,868   $ 24,386   $ 31,868   $ 7,499 Accumulated benefit obligation 29,382   22,574   29,382   7,395 Fair value of plan assets 24,941   22,663   24,941   6,646 International Pension Benefits               Projected benefit obligation $ 1,028   $ 814   $ 678   $ 499 Accumulated benefit obligation 917   714   606   448 Fair value of plan assets 723   594   388   296 The accumulated postretirement benefit obligation exceeds plan assets for all of our U.S. postretirement medical benefit plans. Pension and Postretirement Plan Assets The applicable benefit plan committees establish investment guidelines and strategies, and regularly monitor the performance of the funds and portfolio managers. Our investment guidelines address the following items: governance, general investment beliefs and principles, investment objectives, specific investment goals, process for determining/maintaining the asset allocation policy, long-term asset allocation, rebalancing, investment restrictions/prohibited transactions, portfolio manager structure and diversification (which addresses limits on the amount of investments held by any one manager to minimize risk), portfolio manager selection criteria, plan evaluation, portfolio manager performance review and evaluation and risk management (including various measures used to evaluate risk tolerance). Our investment strategy with respect to pension assets is to invest the assets in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The long-term primary objectives for our pension assets are to: (1) provide for a reasonable amount of long-term growth of capital, with prudent exposure to risk; and protect the assets from erosion of purchasing power; (2) provide investment results that meet or exceed the plans’ expected long-term rate of return; and (3) match the duration of the liabilities and assets of the plans to reduce the potential risk of large employer contributions being necessary in the future. The plans strive to meet these objectives by employing portfolio managers to actively manage assets within the guidelines and strategies set forth by the benefit plan committees. These managers are evaluated by comparing their performance to applicable benchmarks. The fair values of U.S. pension and postretirement benefit plan assets by asset category as of December 31, 2012 are presented below (in millions), as well as the percentage that each category comprises of our total plan assets and the respective target allocations.     Level 1   Level 2   Level 3   Total Assets   Percentage of Plan Assets - 2012   Target Allocation 2012 Asset Category:                       Cash and cash equivalents $ 103   $ 139   $ —   $ 242   0.9 %   0-5 Equity Securities:                       U.S. Large Cap 2,548   2,162   —   4,710         U.S. Small Cap 450   31   —   481         Emerging Markets 1,160   123   —   1,283         Global Equity 2,242   —   —   2,242         International Equity 442   694   —   1,136         Total Equity Securities 6,842   3,010   —   9,852   38.8   35-55 Fixed Income Securities:                       U.S. Government Securities 4,008   443   —   4,451         Corporate Bonds 9   3,113   138   3,260         Global Bonds —   457   —   457         Municipal Bonds —   83   —   83         Total Fixed Income Securities 4,017   4,096   138   8,251   32.5   25-35 Other Investments:                       Hedge Funds —   —   2,829   2,829   11.1   5-15 Private Equity —   —   1,416   1,416   5.6   1-10 Real Estate 177   23   1,039   1,239   4.9   1-10 Structured Products(1) —   210   —   210   0.8   0-5 Other(2) —   —   1,362   1,362   5.4   1-10 Total U.S. Plan Assets $ 11,139   $ 7,478   $ 6,784   $ 25,401   100.0 %     (1) Represents mortgage and asset-backed securities. (2) Represents global balanced-risk commingled funds, consisting primarily of equity, bonds, and some currencies and commodities. The fair values of U.S. pension and postretirement benefit plan assets by asset category as of December 31, 2011 are presented below (in millions), as well as the percentage that each category comprises of our total plan assets and the respective target allocations.     Level 1   Level 2   Level 3   Total Assets   Percentage of Plan Assets - 2011   Target Allocation 2011 Asset Category:                       Cash and cash equivalents $ 74   $ 1   $ —   $ 75   0.3 %   0-5 Equity Securities:                       U.S. Large Cap 2,264   2,460   —   4,724         U.S. Small Cap 706   27   —   733         Emerging Markets 533   264   —   797         Global Equity 1,115   12   —   1,127         International Equity 810   1,091   —   1,901         Total Equity Securities 5,428   3,854   —   9,282   40.7   35-55 Fixed Income Securities:                       U.S. Government Securities 3,374   1,131   —   4,505         Corporate Bonds 9   3,462   80   3,551         Global Bonds 38   69   —   107         Municipal Bonds —   121   —   121         Total Fixed Income Securities 3,421   4,783   80   8,284   36.3   20-40 Other Investments:                       Hedge Funds —   —   2,132   2,132   9.3   5-15 Private Equity —   —   1,354   1,354   5.9   1-10 Real Estate 151   —   948   1,099   4.8   1-10 Other(1) —   —   611   611   2.7   1-10 Total U.S. Plan Assets $ 9,074   $ 8,638   $ 5,125   $ 22,837   100.0 %     (1) Represents global balanced-risk commingled funds, consisting primarily of equity, bonds, and some currencies and commodities. There were no UPS class A or B shares of common stock directly held in plan assets as of December 31, 2012 or December 31, 2011. Pension assets utilizing Level 1 inputs include fair values of equity investments, corporate debt instruments, and U.S. government securities that were determined by closing prices for those securities traded on national stock exchanges, while securities traded in the over-the-counter market and listed securities for which no sale was reported on the valuation date are valued at the mean between the last reported bid and asked prices. Level 2 assets include certain bonds that are valued based on yields currently available on comparable securities of other issues with similar credit ratings, mortgage-backed securities that are valued based on cash flow and yield models using acceptable modeling and pricing conventions, and certain investments that are pooled with other investments held by the trustee in a commingled employee benefit trust fund. The investments in the commingled funds are valued by taking the percentage owned by the respective plan in the underlying net asset value of the trust fund, which was determined in accordance with the paragraph above. Certain investments’ estimated fair value is based on unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by observable market data and are thus classified as Level 3. These investments include commingled funds comprised of corporate and government bonds, hedge funds, real estate investments and private equity funds. The commingled funds are valued using net asset values, adjusted, as appropriate, for investment fund specific inputs determined to be significant to the valuation. Investments in hedge funds are valued using reported net asset values as of December 31. These assets are primarily invested in a portfolio of diversified, direct investments and funds of hedge funds. Real estate investments and private equity funds are valued using fair values per the most recent partnership audited financial reports, adjusted as appropriate for any lag between the date of the financial reports and December 31. The real estate investments consist of U.S. and non-U.S. real estate investments and are broadly diversified. The fair values may, due to the inherent uncertainty of valuation for those alternative investments, differ significantly from the values that would have been used had a ready market for the alternative investments existed, and the differences could be material. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, $2.960 and $3.895 billion of plan assets are held in commingled stock funds that hold U.S. and international public market securities. The plans held the right to liquidate positions in these commingled stock funds at any time, subject only to a brief notification period. No unfunded commitments existed with respect to these commingled stock funds at December 31, 2012. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the plans hold $2.455 and $2.302 billion of investments in limited partnership interests in various private equity and real estate funds. Limited provision exists for the redemption of these interests by the general partners that invest in these funds until the end of the term of the partnerships, typically ranging between 12 and 18 years from the date of inception. An active secondary market exists for similar partnership interests, although no particular value (discount or premium) can be guaranteed. At December 31, 2012, unfunded commitments to such limited partnerships totaling approximately $626 million are expected to be contributed over the remaining investment period, typically ranging between three and six years. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, $4.191 and $2.743 billion of plan investments are held in hedge funds that pursue multiple strategies to diversify risk and reduce volatility. Most of these funds allow redemptions either quarterly or semi-annually after a two to three month notice period, while other funds allow for redemption after only a brief notification period with no restriction on redemption frequency. No unfunded commitments existed with respect to these hedge funds as of December 31, 2012. The following tables presents the changes in the Level 3 instruments measured on a recurring basis for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 (in millions):     Corporate Bonds   Hedge Funds   Real Estate   Private Equity   Other   Total Balance on January 1, 2011 $ 193   $ 1,765   $ 789   $ 1,309   $ 258   $ 4,314 Actual Return on Assets:                       Assets Held at End of Year (14 )   69   144   145   53   397 Assets Sold During the Year 3   22   5   —   —   30 Purchases 57   457   150   164   300   1,128 Sales (159 )   (181 )   (140 )   (264 )   —   (744 ) Settlements —   —   —   —   —   — Transfers Into (Out of) Level 3 —   —   —   —   —   — Balance on December 31, 2011 $ 80   $ 2,132   $ 948   $ 1,354   $ 611   $ 5,125 Actual Return on Assets:                       Assets Held at End of Year 1   59   85   163   151   459 Assets Sold During the Year (3 )   5   4   —   —   6 Purchases 71   1,300   144   184   600   2,299 Sales (11 )   (667 )   (142 )   (285 )   —   (1,105 ) Settlements —   —   —   —   —   — Transfers Into (Out of) Level 3 —   —   —   —   —   — Balance on December 31, 2012 $ 138   $ 2,829   $ 1,039   $ 1,416   $ 1,362   $ 6,784 The fair value disclosures above have not been provided for our international pension benefit plans since asset allocations are determined and managed at the individual country level. In general, the asset allocations for these plans were approximately 56% in equity securities, 34% in debt securities and 10% in other securities in 2012 (approximately 55%, 35%, and 10% in 2011, respectively). The amount of assets having significant unobservable inputs (Level 3), if any, in these plans would be immaterial to our financial statements. Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income The estimated amounts of prior service cost in AOCI expected to be amortized and recognized as a component of net periodic benefit cost in 2013 are as follows (in millions):     U.S. Pension Benefits   U.S. Postretirement Medical Benefits   International Pension Benefits Prior service cost / (benefit) $ 172   $ 4   $ 2 Expected Cash Flows Information about expected cash flows for the pension and postretirement benefit plans is as follows (in millions):   U.S. Pension Benefits   U.S. Postretirement Medical Benefits   International Pension Benefits Employer Contributions:           2013 (expected) to plan trusts $ —   $ —   $ 76 2013 (expected) to plan participants 14   111   3 Expected Benefit Payments:           2013 $ 798   $ 255   $ 20 2014 887   237   22 2015 978   254   25 2016 1,076   271   27 2017 1,182   288   30 2018 - 2022 7,815   1,575   199 Our funding policy for U.S. plans is to contribute amounts annually that are at least equal to the amounts required by applicable laws and regulations, or to directly fund payments to plan participants, as applicable. International plans will be funded in accordance with local regulations. Additional discretionary contributions may be made when deemed appropriate to meet the long-term obligations of the plans. Expected benefit payments for pensions will be primarily paid from plan trusts. Expected benefit payments for postretirement medical benefits will be paid from plan trusts and corporate assets.