Postretirement Health Care and Life Insurance Benefits

The Company currently provides health care and life insurance benefits to qualifying salaried and hourly retirees of its current and certain former subsidiaries and their dependents from benefit plans established by the Company. Plan coverage for health benefits is provided to future hourly and salaried retirees in accordance with the applicable plan document. Life insurance benefits are provided to future hourly retirees in accordance with the applicable labor agreement.

Net periodic postretirement benefit cost included the following components:



	Successor						Predecessor
	Year Ended December 31, 2018			April 2 through December 31, 2017			January 1 through April 1, 2017			Year Ended December 31, 2016
	(Dollars in millions)
Service cost for benefits earned	$	8.2		$	6.9		$	2.3		$	10.4
Interest cost on accumulated postretirement benefit obligation	28.3			24.2			8.4			34.5
Amortization of prior service credit	—			—			(2.3		)	(9.2		)
Amortization of actuarial loss	—			—			5.5			20.4
Net actuarial gain	(128.4		)	(22.0		)	—			—
Net periodic postretirement benefit cost	$	(91.9	)	$	9.1		$	13.9		$	56.1

In connection with fresh start reporting, the Company made a policy election to prospectively record amounts attributable to actuarial valuation changes currently in earnings rather than recording such amounts within accumulated other comprehensive income and amortizing to expense over applicable time periods.

The following includes pre-tax amounts recorded in “Accumulated other comprehensive income”:



	Successor			Predecessor
	Year Ended December 31, 2018			January 1 through April 1, 2017			Year Ended December 31, 2016
	(Dollars in millions)
Net actuarial loss arising during year	$	—		$	—		$	32.3
Prior service credit arising during year	(51.7		)	—			—
Amortization:
Actuarial loss	—			(5.5		)	(20.4		)
Prior service credit	—			2.3			9.2
Settlement related to the Patriot bankruptcy:
Prior service credit	—			—			7.2
Total recorded in “Accumulated other comprehensive income”	$	(51.7	)	$	(3.2	)	$	28.3

The Company amortizes prior service credit over an amortization period of the average remaining service period to full eligibility for participating employees (5.9 years at January 1, 2019). Prior to April 2, 2017, the Company amortized actuarial gain and loss using a 0% corridor with an amortization period that covered the average remaining service period to full eligibility for participating employees (10.3 years at January 1, 2017). The estimated prior service credit that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income into net periodic postretirement benefit cost during the year ending December 31, 2019 is $8.8 million.

The following table sets forth the plans’ funded status reconciled with the amounts shown in the consolidated balance sheets:



	Successor						Predecessor
	Year Ended December 31, 2018			April 2 through December 31, 2017			January 1 through April 1, 2017
	(Dollars in millions)
Change in benefit obligation:
Accumulated postretirement benefit obligation at beginning of period	$	783.3		$	803.1		$	812.1
Service cost	8.2			6.9			2.3
Interest cost	28.3			24.2			8.4
Participant contributions	0.5			0.4			0.2
Plan amendments	(51.7		)	—			—
Benefits paid	(44.8		)	(29.3		)	(12.8		)
Actuarial gain	(128.4		)	(22.0		)	—
Fresh start reporting adjustments	—			—			(7.1		)
Accumulated postretirement benefit obligation at end of period	595.4			783.3			803.1
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period	—			—			—
Employer contributions	59.3			28.9			12.6
Participant contributions	0.5			0.4			0.2
Benefits paid and administrative fees (net of Medicare Part D reimbursements)	(44.8		)	(29.3		)	(12.8		)
Fair value of plan assets at end of period	15.0			—			—
Funded status at end of period	(580.4		)	(783.3		)	(803.1		)
Less: Current portion (included in “Accounts payable and accrued expenses”)	32.7			53.3			56.1
Noncurrent obligation (included in “Accrued postretirement benefit costs”)	$	(547.7	)	$	(730.0	)	$	(747.0	)

In October 2018, the Company announced an amendment to its postretirement health care benefit plan that, after December 31, 2018, (a) limits eligibility for retiree medical allowances based upon attainment of certain age and service criteria at December 31, 2018, (b) reduces the annual retiree medical allowance benefits earned by eligible employees, and (c) establishes maximum limits on the amount eligible employees may earn and annual benefit payments. Employees with existing retiree medical allowance balances that lost continuing eligibility due to the amendment were awarded one-time discretionary contributions to their respective employee retirement accounts based upon years of service.

The impact of the amendment on future benefits reduced the Company’s accumulated postretirement benefit obligation by $51.7 million. Of that amount, $50.2 million was attributable to the annual benefits and the maximum balance limits, and $1.5 million was attributable to the limitation of eligibility based on age and service criteria. The reduction in liability was recorded with an offsetting balance in accumulated other comprehensive income, net of a deferred tax provision, of $44.6 million, which will be amortized to earnings over an average remaining service period to full eligibility for participating employees of 5.9 years.

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations as of the end of each year were as follows:



	December 31,
	2018		2017
Discount rate	4.35	%	3.70	%
Measurement date	December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost during each period were as follows:



	Successor				Predecessor
	Year Ended December 31, 2018		April 2 through December 31, 2017		January 1 through April 1, 2017		Year Ended December 31, 2016
Discount rate	3.70	%	4.10	%	4.15	%	4.50	%
Measurement date	December 31, 2017		April 1, 2017		December 31, 2016		December 31, 2015

The following presents information about the assumed health care cost trend rate:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018		2017
Pre-Medicare:
Health care cost trend rate assumed for next year	6.55	%	7.00	%
Rate to which the cost trend is assumed to decline (the ultimate trend rate)	4.75	%	4.75	%
Year that the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate	2023		2023

Post-Medicare:
Health care cost trend rate assumed for next year	6.15	%	6.50	%
Rate to which the cost trend is assumed to decline (the ultimate trend rate)	4.75	%	4.75	%
Year that the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate	2023		2023

Assumed health care cost trend rates have a significant effect on the expense and liability amounts reported for health care plans. A one-percentage-point change in the assumed health care cost trend would have the following effects for the year ended December 31, 2018:



	One Percentage- Point Increase		One Percentage- Point Decrease
	(Dollars in millions)
Effect on total service and interest cost components	$	2.9	$	(2.6	)
Effect on total postretirement benefit obligation	$	50.2	$	(45.7	)

Plan Assets

In December 2018, the Company established a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust to pre-fund a portion of benefits for non-represented retirees. Assets of the Peabody Investments Corp. Non-Represented Retiree VEBA Trust (the Non-Represented Trust) will be invested in accordance with the investment policy established by the Peabody VEBA Retirement Committee after consultation with outside investment advisors and actuaries. As of December 31, 2018, the funds were invested in cash.

Cash funds. The Non-Represented Trust invests in cash funds to manage liquidity resulting from payment of participant benefits and certain administrative fees. The investment consists of a U.S. Government money market fund which is classified within the Level 1 valuation hierarchy.

The following table presents the fair value of assets in the Non-Represented Trust by asset category and by fair value hierarchy:



	December 31, 2018
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
	(Dollars in millions)
Cash funds	$	15.0	$	—	$	—	$	15.0
Total assets at fair value	$	15.0	$	—	$	—	$	15.0

Contributions

Annual contributions to the Non-Represented Trust are discretionary.

Estimated Future Benefit Payments

The following benefit payments (net of retiree contributions), which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid by the Company:



	Postretirement
	Benefits
	(Dollars in millions)
2019	$	43.4
2020	45.3
2021	46.6
2022	45.8
2023	44.5
Years 2024-2028	205.9