NOTE 5 - EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans. The Company’s net periodic benefit cost includes the following components (in millions):


	Pension Benefits				Other Postretirement Benefits
	Three Months Ended June 30,				Three Months Ended June 30,
	2016		2015		2016		2015
Service cost	$	27	$	31	$	6	$	5
Interest cost		50		50		22		21
Expected return on plan assets		(54)		(49)		(1)		(1)
Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss and prior service cost (credit)		20		22		(14)		(14)
Settlement loss		1		—		—		—

Total	$	44	$	54	$	13	$	11


	Pension Benefits				Other Postretirement Benefits
	Six Months Ended June 30, 2016				Six Months Ended June 30, 2016
	2016		2015		2016		2015
Service cost	$	55	$	62	$	10	$	10
Interest cost		101		100		44		41
Expected return on plan assets		(108)		(98)		(1)		(1)
Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss and prior service cost (credit)		38		44		(27)		(27)
Settlement loss		2		1		—		—

Total	$	88	$	109	$	26	$	23

During the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, the Company contributed $80 million and $160 million, respectively, to its U.S. domestic tax-qualified defined benefit pension plans.

Share-Based Compensation. During 2016, UAL granted share-based compensation awards pursuant to the United Continental Holdings, Inc. 2008 Incentive Compensation Plan. These share-based compensation awards include approximately 0.3 million shares of restricted stock and 0.8 million restricted stock units (“RSUs”) that vest pro-rata over three years on the anniversary of the grant date. The time-vested RSUs are stock-settled for domestic employees and cash-settled based on the 20-day average closing price of UAL common stock immediately prior to the vesting date for international employees. The Company also granted 0.6 million performance-based RSUs that will vest based on the Company’s return on invested capital and the Company’s relative improvement in pre-tax margin for the three years ending December 31, 2018. If these performance conditions are achieved, cash payments will be made after the end of the performance period based on the 20-day average closing price of UAL common stock immediately prior to the vesting date. The Company accounts for the stock-settled RSUs as equity awards and the cash-settled RSUs as liability awards.

The table below presents information related to share-based compensation (in millions):


	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2016		2015		2016		2015
Share-based compensation expense	$	3	$	16	$	13	$	33

	June 30, 2016		December 31, 2015
Unrecognized share-based compensation	$	71	$	41

Profit Sharing Plans. Substantially all employees participate in profit sharing based on a percentage of pre-tax earnings, excluding special items, profit sharing expense and share-based compensation. Profit sharing percentages range from 5% to 20% depending on the work group, and in some cases profit sharing percentages vary above and below certain pre-tax margin thresholds. Eligible U.S. co-workers in each participating work group receive a profit sharing payout using a formula based on the ratio of each qualified co-worker’s annual eligible earnings to the eligible earnings of all qualified co-workers in all domestic work groups. Eligible non-U.S. co-workers receive profit sharing based on the calculation under the U.S. profit sharing plan for management and administrative employees. Profit sharing expense is recorded as a component of Salaries and related costs in the Company’s statements of consolidated operations.