Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

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EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
Company-Sponsored Benefit Plans
Information about the net periodic benefit cost (income) for our company-sponsored pension and postretirement benefit plans for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 is as follows (in millions):
  U.S. Pension Benefits U.S. Postretirement
Medical Benefits		 International
Pension Benefits
2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022
Three Months Ended September 30:
Service cost $ 293  $ 506  $ 5  $ 7  $ 11  $ 17 
Interest cost 627  488  29  21  16  11 
Expected return on assets (742) (820) (3) (1) (21) (19)
Amortization of prior service cost 27  23  —  —  1  — 
Net periodic benefit cost (income) $ 205  $ 197  $ 31  $ 27  $ 7  $ 9 
U.S. Pension Benefits U.S. Postretirement
Medical Benefits		 International
Pension Benefits
2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022
Nine Months Ended September 30:
Service cost $ 879  $ 1,518  $ 15  $ 22  $ 33  $ 52 
Interest cost 1,881  1,463  87  62  49  34 
Expected return on assets (2,225) (2,460) (9) (3) (63) (59)
Amortization of prior service cost 80  69  1  —  1  1 
Settlement and curtailment (gain) loss —  —  —  —  —  (33)
Net periodic benefit cost (income) $ 615  $ 590  $ 94  $ 81  $ 20  $ (5)
The components of net periodic benefit cost (income) other than current service cost are presented within Investment income and other in the statements of consolidated income.
During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, we amended the UPS Canada Ltd. Retirement Plan to cease future benefit accruals effective December 31, 2023. We remeasured the plan's assets and benefit obligation, which resulted in a curtailment gain of $33 million ($24 million after-tax) for the nine months ended September 30, 2022. The gain is included in Investment income and other in the statement of consolidated income.
During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, we contributed $1.3 billion and $108 million to our company-sponsored pension and U.S. postretirement medical benefit plans, respectively. We expect to contribute approximately $26 and $10 million over the remainder of the year to our pension and U.S. postretirement medical benefit plans, respectively.
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 September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, we had $815 and $821 million, respectively, recorded in Other Non-Current Liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets and $8 million as of each of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 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 September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 was $642 and $686 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 March 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 and, in January 2023, the CSPF received $35.8 billion from 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 31st measurement date. As of December 31, 2022, 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 more than 300,000 employees in the U.S. employed under a national master agreement and various supplemental agreements with local unions affiliated with the Teamsters. These agreements were scheduled to expire on July 31, 2023. On July 25, 2023, we reached a new tentative national master agreement with the Teamsters. On September 9, 2023, the agreement was fully ratified. The new agreement contains wage and benefit rate increases for both our part-time and full-time Teamster employees. Based on the most recent actuarial assumptions, the impact to the projected benefit obligation ("PBO") would be approximately $0.6 billion. These enhancements will be recognized at the plans' next measurement date, which is expected to be December 31, 2023, and are subject to actuarial assumptions at that date which may further impact the final PBO calculation.
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 3,500 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 1,800 airline mechanics who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 2727 which becomes amendable November 1, 2026. In addition, approximately 3,100 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.