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BENEFIT PLANS | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2014
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Disclosures [Abstract] |
BENEFIT PLANS | BENEFIT PLANS We have funded defined benefit plans in Japan and the United States, which cover substantially all of our full-time employees. Additionally, we maintain non-qualified, unfunded supplemental retirement plans that provide defined pension benefits in excess of limits imposed by federal tax law for certain Japanese, U.S. and former employees. We provide certain health care benefits for eligible U.S. retired employees, their beneficiaries and covered dependents ("other postretirement benefits"). The health care plan in contributory and unfunded. On October 1, 2013, a change was made to postretirement medical benefits to limit the eligibility for the benefits beginning January 1, 2014 to include the following: (1) active employees whose age plus service, in years, equals or exceeds 80 (rule of 80); (2) active employees who are age 55 or older and have met the 15 years of service requirement; (3) active employees who will meet the rule of 80 in the next five years; (4) active employees who are age 55 or older and who will meet the 15 years of service requirement within the next five years; and (5) current retirees. Effective October 1, 2013, this change was accounted for as a negative plan amendment and resulted in a reduction to the postretirement benefit obligation of approximately $51 million, with an offset to accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI). Starting in the fourth quarter of 2013, this reduction is being amortized as a reduction to net periodic benefit cost over three years . The postretirement plan obligation was remeasured using a discount rate of 4.75% as of October 1, 2013. For certain employees and former employees, additional coverage is provided for all medical expenses for life. Pension and other postretirement benefit expenses, included in acquisition and operating expenses in the consolidated statement of earnings, included the following components:
|  | Three Months Ended March 31,
|  | Pension Benefits | Other
|  | Japan |  | U.S. | Postretirement Benefits
(In millions) |  | 2014 |  | 2013 |  | 2014 |  | 2013 |  | 2014 |  | 2013
Components of net periodic benefit cost: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Service cost |  |  | $ | 4 |  |  |  |  | $ | 4 |  |  |  |  | $ | 5 |  |  |  |  | $ | 5 |  |  |  |  | $ | 0 |  |  |  |  | $ | 2 |  |
Interest cost |  |  | 2 |  |  |  |  | 2 |  |  |  |  | 7 |  |  |  |  | 7 |  |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  |  | 1 |  |
Expected return on plan assets |  |  | (1 | ) |  |  |  | (1 | ) |  |  |  | (5 | ) |  |  |  | (4 | ) |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  |  | 0 |  |
Amortization of net actuarial loss |  |  | 0 |  |  |  |  | 1 |  |  |  |  | 3 |  |  |  |  | 4 |  |  |  |  | 1 |  |  |  |  | 0 |  |
Amortization of prior service cost |  |  | 0 |  |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  |  | (4 | ) |  |  |  | 0 |  |
Net periodic (benefit) cost |  |  | $ | 5 |  |  |  |  | $ | 6 |  |  |  |  | $ | 10 |  |  |  |  | $ | 12 |  |  |  |  | $ | (3 | ) |  |  |  | $ | 3 |  |
During the three months ended March 31, 2014, Aflac Japan contributed approximately $6 million (using the weighted-average yen/dollar exchange rate for the three-month period ending March 31, 2014) to the Japanese funded defined benefit plan, and Aflac U.S. did not make a contribution to the U.S. funded defined benefit plan. For additional information regarding our Japanese and U.S. benefit plans, see Note 14 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our annual report to shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2013.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for pension and other postretirement benefits. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 715 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2235017 + Details
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