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12. Employee Retirement Plans<br />
Defined Benefit Plans<br />
We have defined benefit pension plans covering certain domestic and international employees. Our funding policy has been to<br />
contribute, as necessary, an amount in excess of the minimum requirements in order to achieve the company’s long-term funding<br />
targets. In <strong>2007</strong>, we made a voluntary contribution of $149 million to our domestic and international pension plans. In 2006, we made<br />
an incremental contribution of $15 million to our domestic and international pension plans.<br />
We use a December 31 measurement date for our domestic defined benefit plans. The measurement dates for our foreign defined<br />
benefit pension plans are September 30.<br />
In 2000, we amended our U.S. pension plan to include a cash balance pension feature. Certain salaried and non-union hourly<br />
employees remain in the traditional defined benefit plan. All salaried and non-union hourly employees hired after July 1, 2000, are<br />
automatically participants in the new cash balance plan. Under the cash balance plan, employee accounts are credited monthly with a<br />
percentage of eligible pay based on age and years of service. Benefits are 100% vested after five years of service. The Pension<br />
Protection Act of 2006 requires vesting after three years for cash balance plans by January 1, 2008. <strong>Corning</strong> will adopt this measure<br />
on January 1, 2008.<br />
<strong>Corning</strong> offers postretirement plans that provide health care and life insurance benefits for retirees and eligible dependents. Certain<br />
employees may become eligible for such postretirement benefits upon reaching retirement age. Prior to January 1, 2003, our principal<br />
retiree medical plans required retiree contributions each year equal to the excess of medical cost increases over general inflation rates.<br />
For current retirees (including surviving spouses) and active employees eligible for the salaried retiree medical program, we have<br />
placed a “cap” on the amount we will contribute toward retiree medical coverage in the future. The cap will equal 120% of our 2005<br />
contributions toward retiree medical benefits. Once our contributions toward salaried retiree medical costs reach this cap, impacted<br />
retirees will have to pay the excess amount in addition to their regular contributions for coverage.<br />
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