Eversource 2015 Annual Report Download - page 94

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The following actuarial assumptions were used to calculate PBOP expense amounts:
PBOP
For the Years Ended December 31,
2015 2014 2013
Discount Rate 4.22 % 4.78 % - 5.10 % 4.04 % - 4.35 %
Expected Long-Term Rate of Return 8.25 % 8.25 % 8.25%
As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, the health care cost trend rate assumptions used to determine the PBOP Plan’s funded status was 6.25 percent
and 6.5 percent, respectively, subsequently decreasing to an ultimate rate of 4.5 percent in 2023. The health care cost trend rate assumption used to
calculate the PBOP expense amount was 6.5 percent for the year ended December 31, 2015.
Assumed health care cost trend rates have a significant effect on the amounts reported for the health care plans. The effect of changing the assumed
health care cost trend rate by one percentage point for the year ended December 31, 2015 would have the following effects:
One Percentage
One Percentage
(Millions of Dollars) Point Increase
Point Decrease
Effect on PBOP Obligation $ 115.3 $ (90.8)
Effect on Total Service and Interest Cost Components 8.5 (6.3)
The following is a summary of the changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in Regulatory Assets and OCI as well as amounts
recognized in Regulatory Assets and OCI that were reclassified as net periodic benefit (expense)/income during the years presented:
Regulatory Assets
OCI
For the Years Ended December 31,
(Millions of Dollars) 2015
2014 2015 2014
Actuarial (Gains)/Losses Arising During the Year $ (34.1) $ 115.1 $ 0.7
$
0.4
Actuarial Losses Reclassified as Net Periodic Benefit Expense (6.4) (11.6) (0.4) (0.6)
Prior Service Credit Reclassified as Net Periodic Benefit Income 0.5 2.8 - -
The following is a summary of the remaining Regulatory Assets and Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss amounts that have not been
recognized as components of net periodic benefit expense as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, as well as the amounts that are expected to be
recognized as components in 2016:
Regulatory Assets as of
Expected AOCI as of Expected
December 31, 2016 December 31, 2016
(Millions of Dollars) 2015
2014 Expense 2015 2014 Expense
Actuarial Loss $ 152.2 $ 192.7 $ 4.0 $ 6.3 $ 6.0 $ 0.4
Prior Service Credit (1.3) (1.8) (0.2) - - -
Estimated Future Benefit Payments:
The following benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, are expected to be paid by the Pension,
SERP and PBOP Plans:
(Millions of Dollars)
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021-2025
Pension and SERP $ 253.5 $ 272.9 $ 273.9 $ 283.7 $ 292.7 $ 1,604.3
PBOP 60.8 61.2 61.4 61.8 62.4 315.4
Eversource Contributions: Eversource contributed $154.6 million to the Pension Plan in 2015, of which $5 million was contributed by NSTAR
Electric, $1 million by PSNH and the remainder by other Eversource subsidiaries, primarily Eversource Service. Based on the current status of the
Pension Plan and federal pension funding requirements, although not required to make a minimum pension contribution in 2016, Eversource
currently expects to make contributions of approximately $146 million in 2016, of which $21 million will be contributed by NSTAR Electric and $17
million by PSNH. The remaining $108 million is expected to be contributed by other Eversource subsidiaries, primarily Eversource Service.
Eversource contributed $7.9 million to the PBOP Plan in 2015, of which $4.9 million was contributed by NSTAR Electric. Eversource expects to
make approximately $9.5 million in contributions in 2016.