In February 2020 we purchased a group annuity contract from an insurance company to transfer $101.1 million of our outstanding pension benefit obligation related to our qualified pension plans to the insurance company. This transaction was funded with plan assets. As a result of the transaction, the insurance company assumed responsibility for annuity administration and benefit payments to select retirees, with no change to their monthly retirement benefit payment

amounts. In connection with this transaction we recorded a non-cash pretax settlement charge of $43.0 million during the three months ended March 31, 2020 in non-operating expense, net, accelerating the recognition of actuarial losses included in accumulated other comprehensive loss that would have been recognized in future periods.

The settlement triggered a remeasurement of plan assets and liabilities. We updated the discount rate used to measure our projected benefit obligation for the qualified pension plans as of February 29, 2020 and to calculate the related net periodic benefit cost for the remainder of 2020 to 2.95% from 3.40%. All other pension assumptions remain unchanged. The net effect of the remeasurement was a reduction in the funded status of our qualified pension plans of approximately $26.2 million, primarily driven by the decrease in the discount rate.

The following tables detail the components of net periodic cost (benefit) of our pension plans and other postretirement employee benefits (OPEB):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	Pension						OPEB
(in thousands)	2020			2019			2020			2019
Service cost	$	2,290		$	2,021		$	143		$	105
Interest cost		3,564			4,539			375			419
Expected return on plan assets		(4,586	)		(5,554	)		—			—
Amortization of prior service cost (credit)		28			53			(319	)		(2,211	)
Amortization of actuarial loss		4,154			3,427			419			307
Net periodic cost (benefit) before pension settlement charge		5,450			4,486			618			(1,380	)
Pension settlement charge		42,988			—			—			—
Total net periodic cost (benefit)	$	48,438		$	4,486		$	618		$	(1,380	)

During the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, funding of pension and other postretirement employee benefit plans was $1.5 million and $1.7 million, respectively. Further, as allowed under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) passed in March 2020, we will defer approximately $4.4 million of required 2020 contributions for our qualified pension plans until 2021.