page 31 of 94 other liquidity items cash payments required for long-term debt maturities , rental payments under noncancellable operating leases , purchase obligations and other commitments in effect at december 31 , 2007 , are summarized in the following table: .

1	( $ in millions )	payments due by period ( a ) total	payments due by period ( a ) less than 1 year	payments due by period ( a ) 1-3 years	payments due by period ( a ) 3-5 years	payments due by period ( a ) more than 5 years
2	long-term debt	$ 2302.6	$ 126.1	$ 547.6	$ 1174.9	$ 454.0
3	capital lease obligations	4.4	1.0	0.8	0.5	2.1
4	interest payments on long-term debt ( b )	698.6	142.9	246.3	152.5	156.9
5	operating leases	218.5	49.9	71.7	42.5	54.4
6	purchase obligations ( c )	6092.6	2397.2	3118.8	576.6	2013
7	common stock repurchase agreements	131.0	131.0	2013	2013	2013
8	legal settlement	70.0	70.0	2013	2013	2013
9	total payments on contractual obligations	$ 9517.7	$ 2918.1	$ 3985.2	$ 1947.0	$ 667.4

total payments on contractual obligations $ 9517.7 $ 2918.1 $ 3985.2 $ 1947.0 $ 667.4 ( a ) amounts reported in local currencies have been translated at the year-end exchange rates . ( b ) for variable rate facilities , amounts are based on interest rates in effect at year end and do not contemplate the effects of hedging instruments . ( c ) the company 2019s purchase obligations include contracted amounts for aluminum , steel , plastic resin and other direct materials . also included are commitments for purchases of natural gas and electricity , aerospace and technologies contracts and other less significant items . in cases where variable prices and/or usage are involved , management 2019s best estimates have been used . depending on the circumstances , early termination of the contracts may not result in penalties and , therefore , actual payments could vary significantly . contributions to the company 2019s defined benefit pension plans , not including the unfunded german plans , are expected to be $ 49 million in 2008 . this estimate may change based on plan asset performance . benefit payments related to these plans are expected to be $ 66 million , $ 70 million , $ 74 million , $ 77 million and $ 82 million for the years ending december 31 , 2008 through 2012 , respectively , and a total of $ 473 million for the years 2013 through 2017 . payments to participants in the unfunded german plans are expected to be approximately $ 26 million in each of the years 2008 through 2012 and a total of $ 136 million for the years 2013 through 2017 . in accordance with united kingdom pension regulations , ball has provided an a38 million guarantee to the plan for its defined benefit plan in the united kingdom . if the company 2019s credit rating falls below specified levels , ball will be required to either : ( 1 ) contribute an additional a38 million to the plan ; ( 2 ) provide a letter of credit to the plan in that amount or ( 3 ) if imposed by the appropriate regulatory agency , provide a lien on company assets in that amount for the benefit of the plan . the guarantee can be removed upon approval by both ball and the pension plan trustees . our share repurchase program in 2007 was $ 211.3 million , net of issuances , compared to $ 45.7 million net repurchases in 2006 and $ 358.1 million in 2005 . the net repurchases included the $ 51.9 million settlement on january 5 , 2007 , of a forward contract entered into in december 2006 for the repurchase of 1200000 shares . however , the 2007 net repurchases did not include a forward contract entered into in december 2007 for the repurchase of 675000 shares . the contract was settled on january 7 , 2008 , for $ 31 million in cash . on december 12 , 2007 , in a privately negotiated transaction , ball entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement to buy $ 100 million of its common shares using cash on hand and available borrowings . the company advanced the $ 100 million on january 7 , 2008 , and received approximately 2 million shares , which represented 90 percent of the total shares as calculated using the previous day 2019s closing price . the exact number of shares to be repurchased under the agreement , which will be determined on the settlement date ( no later than june 5 , 2008 ) , is subject to an adjustment based on a weighted average price calculation for the period between the initial purchase date and the settlement date . the company has the option to settle the contract in either cash or shares . including the settlements of the forward share purchase contract and the accelerated share repurchase agreement , we expect to repurchase approximately $ 300 million of our common shares , net of issuances , in 2008 . annual cash dividends paid on common stock were 40 cents per share in 2007 , 2006 and 2005 . total dividends paid were $ 40.6 million in 2007 , $ 41 million in 2006 and $ 42.5 million in 2005. .

Previous questions in this conversation: what is the last year in which payments to participants in the unfunded german plans are expected to be approximately $ 26 million? and what is the first year?
Previous answers: 2012.0 2008.0
Question: how many years, then, are comprehended in this period?
Answer: 4