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Employee Benefit Plans
 6 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans

NOTE K - EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Plan contributions

For the six months ended March 31, 2022, Ashland contributed $3 million to its non-U.S. pension plans and less than $1 million to its U.S. pension plans. Ashland expects to make additional contributions of approximately $2 million to its non-U.S. and less than $1 million to its U.S. pension plans during the remainder of fiscal 2022.

Plan Remeasurements

Following the completion of the sale of its Performance Adhesives business segment on February 28, 2022, the post-retirement benefits for approximately 40 employees transferred to Arkema, all of whom participated in a non-contributory defined benefit plan in the U.S., were frozen. This resulted in a significant decrease in total expected future years of service within the plan and required Ashland to remeasure the plan as February 28, 2022. As a result, Ashland recorded a $1 million actuarial gain within the other net periodic benefits income caption of the Statements of Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the three and six months ended March 31, 2022.

Components of net periodic benefit costs (income)

The following table details the components of pension and other postretirement benefit costs for continuing operations.

 

 

 

Pension benefits

 

 

Other postretirement
benefits

 

(In millions)

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Three months ended March 31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service cost

 

$

1

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

—

 

 

$

—

 

Interest cost

 

 

1

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

—

 

Expected return on plan assets

 

 

(2

)

 

 

(2

)

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

Actuarial (gain)

 

 

(1

)

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

Total net periodic benefit costs

 

$

(1

)

 

$

1

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

—

 

Six months ended March 31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service cost

 

$

2

 

 

$

3

 

 

$

—

 

 

$

—

 

Interest cost

 

 

3

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

1

 

Expected return on plan assets

 

 

(4

)

 

 

(4

)

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

Actuarial (gain)

 

 

(1

)

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

Total net periodic benefit costs

 

$

—

 

 

$

2

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

1

 

For segment reporting purposes, service cost is proportionately allocated to each segment, excluding the Unallocated and other segment, and is recorded within the selling, general and administrative expense and cost of sales captions on the Statements of Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Loss). All other components are recorded within the other net periodic benefit income caption on the Statements of Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Loss), which netted to a gain of $1 million for the three and six months ended March 31, 2022 and zero for the three and six months ended March 31, 2021.