Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

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EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
Company-Sponsored Benefit Plans
Information about the net periodic benefit cost for our company-sponsored pension and postretirement benefit plans for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 is as follows (in millions):
  U.S. Pension Benefits U.S. Postretirement
Medical Benefits		 International
Pension Benefits
2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023
Three Months Ended March 31:
Service cost $ 310  $ 293  $ 5  $ 5  $ 11  $ 11 
Interest cost 644  627  27  29  17  17 
Expected return on assets (771) (742) (1) (3) (21) (21)
Amortization of prior service cost 38  27  —  —  —  — 
Net periodic benefit cost
 $ 221  $ 205  $ 31  $ 31  $ 7  $ 7 
The components of net periodic benefit cost other than current service cost are presented within Investment income and other in the statements of consolidated income.
During the three months ended March 31, 2024, we contributed $19 million and $31 million to our company-sponsored pension and U.S. postretirement medical benefit plans, respectively. We expect to contribute approximately $87 million over the remainder of the year to our U.S. postretirement medical benefit plans.
Multiemployer Benefit Plans
We contribute to a number of multiemployer defined benefit and health and welfare plans under the terms of collective bargaining agreements that cover our union-represented employees. Our current collective bargaining agreements set forth the annual contribution increases allotted to the plans that we participate in, and we are in compliance with these contribution rates. These limitations on annual contribution rates will remain in effect throughout the terms of the existing collective bargaining agreements.
As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, we had $811 and $813 million, respectively, recorded in Other Non-Current Liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets and $9 million as of both March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 recorded in Other current liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets associated with our previous withdrawal from the New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund. This liability is payable in equal monthly installments over a remaining term of approximately 39 years. Based on the borrowing rates currently available to us for long-term financing of a similar maturity, the fair value of this withdrawal liability as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 was $685 and $710 million, respectively. We utilized Level 2 inputs in the fair value hierarchy of valuation techniques to determine the fair value of this liability.
UPS was a contributing employer to the Central States Pension Fund (“CSPF”) until 2007, at which time UPS withdrew from the CSPF. Under a collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (“IBT”), UPS agreed to provide coordinating benefits in the UPS/IBT Full Time Employee Pension Plan (“UPS/IBT Plan”) for UPS participants whose last employer was UPS and who had not retired as of January 1, 2008 (“the UPS Transfer Group”) in the event that benefits are reduced by the CSPF consistent with the terms of our withdrawal agreement with the CSPF. Under this agreement, benefits to the UPS Transfer Group cannot be reduced without our consent and can only be reduced in accordance with law.
Subsequent to our withdrawal, the CSPF incurred extensive asset losses and indicated that it was projected to become insolvent. In such event, the CSPF benefits would be reduced to the legally permitted Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ("PBGC") limits, triggering the coordinating benefits provision in the collective bargaining agreement.
In 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act ("ARPA") was enacted into law. The ARPA contains provisions that allow for qualifying multiemployer pension plans to apply for special financial assistance ("SFA") from the PBGC, which will be funded by the U.S. government. Following SFA approval, a qualifying multiemployer pension plan will receive a lump sum payment to enable it to continue paying unreduced pension benefits through 2051. The multiemployer plan is not obligated to repay the SFA. The ARPA is intended to prevent both the PBGC and certain financially distressed multiemployer pension plans, including the CSPF, from becoming insolvent through 2051. The CSPF submitted an application for SFA that was approved in December 2022. In January 2023, $35.8 billion was paid to the CSPF by the PBGC.
We account for the potential obligation to pay coordinating benefits under ASC Topic 715, which requires us to provide a best estimate of various actuarial assumptions in measuring our pension benefit obligation at the December 31 measurement date. As of December 31, 2023, our best estimate of coordinating benefits that may be required to be paid by the UPS/IBT Plan after SFA funds have been exhausted was immaterial.
The value of our estimate for future coordinating benefits will continue to be influenced by a number of factors, including interpretations of the ARPA, future legislative actions, actuarial assumptions and the ability of the CSPF to sustain its long-term commitments. Actual events may result in a change in our best estimate of the projected benefit obligation. We will continue to assess the impact of these uncertainties in accordance with ASC Topic 715.
Collective Bargaining Agreements
We have approximately 310,000 employees in the U.S. employed under a national master agreement and various supplemental agreements with local unions affiliated with the Teamsters. These agreements are scheduled to expire on July 31, 2028.
We have approximately 10,000 employees in Canada employed under a collective bargaining agreement with the Teamsters which runs through July 31, 2025.
We have approximately 3,300 pilots who are employed under a collective bargaining agreement with the Independent Pilots Association. This collective bargaining agreement becomes amendable September 1, 2025.
We have approximately 1,900 airline mechanics who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 2727 which becomes amendable November 1, 2026. In addition, approximately 3,000 of our auto and maintenance mechanics who are not employed under agreements with the Teamsters are employed under collective bargaining agreements with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. These collective bargaining agreements run through July 31, 2024.