plan asset management 3m 2019s investment strategy for its pension and postretirement plans is to manage the funds on a going-concern basis . the primary goal of the trust funds is to meet the obligations as required . the secondary goal is to earn the highest rate of return possible , without jeopardizing its primary goal , and without subjecting the company to an undue amount of contribution risk . fund returns are used to help finance present and future obligations to the extent possible within actuarially determined funding limits and tax-determined asset limits , thus reducing the potential need for additional contributions from 3m . the investment strategy has used long duration cash bonds and derivative instruments to offset a significant portion of the interest rate sensitivity of u.s . pension liabilities . normally , 3m does not buy or sell any of its own securities as a direct investment for its pension and other postretirement benefit funds . however , due to external investment management of the funds , the plans may indirectly buy , sell or hold 3m securities . the aggregate amount of 3m securities are not considered to be material relative to the aggregate fund percentages . the discussion that follows references the fair value measurements of certain assets in terms of levels 1 , 2 and 3 . see note 13 for descriptions of these levels . while the company believes the valuation methods are appropriate and consistent with other market participants , the use of different methodologies or assumptions to determine the fair value of certain financial instruments could result in a different estimate of fair value at the reporting date. .
is based on an asset allocation assumption of 25% ( 25 % ) global equities , 18% ( 18 % ) private equities , 41% ( 41 % ) fixed-income securities , and 16% ( 16 % ) absolute return investments independent of traditional performance benchmarks , along with positive returns from active investment management . the actual net rate of return on plan assets in 2015 was 0.7% ( 0.7 % ) . in 2014 the plan earned a rate of return of 13.0% ( 13.0 % ) and in 2013 earned a return of 6.0% ( 6.0 % ) . the average annual actual return on the plan assets over the past 10 and 25 years has been 7.8% ( 7.8 % ) and 10.0% ( 10.0 % ) , respectively . return on assets assumptions for international pension and other post-retirement benefit plans are calculated on a plan-by-plan basis using plan asset allocations and expected long-term rate of return assumptions . during 2015 , the company contributed $ 264 million to its u.s . and international pension plans and $ 3 million to its postretirement plans . during 2014 , the company contributed $ 210 million to its u.s . and international pension plans and $ 5 million to its postretirement plans . in 2016 , the company expects to contribute an amount in the range of $ 100 million to $ 200 million of cash to its u.s . and international retirement plans . the company does not have a required minimum cash pension contribution obligation for its u.s . plans in 2016 . future contributions will depend on market conditions , interest rates and other factors . future pension and postretirement benefit payments the following table provides the estimated pension and postretirement benefit payments that are payable from the plans to participants . qualified and non-qualified pension benefits postretirement .
what was the ratio of the company contribution to the us qualified and non-qualified pension benefits for 2015 compared to 2014
the actual net rate of return on plan assets in 2015 was 0.7% ( 0.7 % ) . the average annual actual return on the plan assets over the past 10 and 25 years has been 7.8% ( 7.8 % ) and 10.0% ( 10.0 % ) , respectively . during 2015 , the company contributed $ 264 million to its u.s . during 2014 , the company contributed $ 210 million to its u.s .
( millions ) qualified and non-qualified pension benefits united states qualified and non-qualified pension benefits international benefits
2016 benefit payments $ 987 $ 205 $ 141
2017 benefit payments 997 215 156
2018 benefit payments 1008 228 172
2019 benefit payments 1017 241 153
2020 benefit payments 1029 250 155
next five years 5187 1480 797