the company will continue to rely upon debt and capital markets for the majority of any necessary long-term funding not provided by operating cash flows . funding decisions will be guided by our capital structure planning objectives . the primary goals of the company 2019s capital structure planning are to maximize financial flexibility and preserve liquidity while reducing interest expense . the majority of international paper 2019s debt is accessed through global public capital markets where we have a wide base of investors . maintaining an investment grade credit rating is an important element of international paper 2019s financing strategy . at december 31 , 2015 , the company held long-term credit ratings of bbb ( stable outlook ) and baa2 ( stable outlook ) by s&p and moody 2019s , respectively . contractual obligations for future payments under existing debt and lease commitments and purchase obligations at december 31 , 2015 , were as follows: .

Table:
in millions | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | thereafter
maturities of long-term debt ( a ) | $ 426 | $ 43 | $ 811 | $ 427 | $ 183 | $ 7436
lease obligations | 118 | 95 | 72 | 55 | 41 | 128
purchase obligations ( b ) | 3001 | 541 | 447 | 371 | 358 | 1579
total ( c ) | $ 3545 | $ 679 | $ 1330 | $ 853 | $ 582 | $ 9143
( a ) total debt includes scheduled principal payments only .
( b ) includes $ 2.1 billion relating to fiber supply agreements entered into at the time of the 2006 transformation plan forestland sales and in conjunction with the 2008 acquisition of weyerhaeuser company 2019s containerboard , packaging and recycling business .
( c ) not included in the above table due to the uncertainty as to the amount and timing of the payment are unrecognized tax benefits of approximately $ 101 million .
we consider the undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiaries as of december 31 , 2015 , to be indefinitely reinvested and , accordingly , no u.s .
income taxes have been provided thereon .
as of december 31 , 2015 , the amount of cash associated with indefinitely reinvested foreign earnings was approximately $ 600 million .
we do not anticipate the need to repatriate funds to the united states to satisfy domestic liquidity needs arising in the ordinary course of business , including liquidity needs associated with our domestic debt service requirements .
pension obligations and funding at december 31 , 2015 , the projected benefit obligation for the company 2019s u.s .
defined benefit plans determined under u.s .
gaap was approximately $ 3.5 billion higher than the fair value of plan assets .
approximately $ 3.2 billion of this amount relates to plans that are subject to minimum funding requirements .
under current irs funding rules , the calculation of minimum funding requirements differs from the calculation of the present value of plan benefits ( the projected benefit obligation ) for accounting purposes .
in december 2008 , the worker , retiree and employer recovery act of 2008 ( wera ) was passed by the u.s .
congress which provided for pension funding relief and technical corrections .
funding contributions depend on the funding method selected by the company , and the timing of its implementation , as well as on actual demographic data and the targeted funding level .
the company continually reassesses the amount and timing of any discretionary contributions and elected to make contributions totaling $ 750 million and $ 353 million for the years ended december 31 , 2015 and 2014 , respectively .
at this time , we do not expect to have any required contributions to our plans in 2016 , although the company may elect to make future voluntary contributions .
the timing and amount of future contributions , which could be material , will depend on a number of factors , including the actual earnings and changes in values of plan assets and changes in interest rates .
international paper has announced a voluntary , limited-time opportunity for former employees who are participants in the retirement plan of international paper company ( the pension plan ) to request early payment of their entire pension plan benefit in the form of a single lump sum payment .
eligible participants who wish to receive the lump sum payment must make an election between february 29 and april 29 , 2016 , and payment is scheduled to be made on or before june 30 , 2016 .
all payments will be made from the pension plan trust assets .
the target population has a total liability of $ 3.0 billion .
the amount of the total payments will depend on the participation rate of eligible participants , but is expected to be approximately $ 1.5 billion .
based on the expected level of payments , settlement accounting rules will apply in the period in which the payments are made .
this will result in a plan remeasurement and the recognition in earnings of a pro-rata portion of unamortized net actuarial loss .
ilim holding s.a .
shareholder 2019s agreement in october 2007 , in connection with the formation of the ilim holding s.a .
joint venture , international paper entered into a shareholder 2019s agreement that includes provisions relating to the reconciliation of disputes among the partners .
this agreement was amended on may 7 , 2014 .
pursuant to the amended agreement , beginning on january 1 , 2017 , either the company or its partners may commence certain procedures specified under the deadlock provisions .
if these or any other deadlock provisions are commenced , the company may in certain situations , choose to purchase its partners 2019 50% ( 50 % ) interest in ilim .
any such transaction would be subject to review and approval by russian and other relevant antitrust authorities .
any such purchase by international paper would result in the consolidation of ilim 2019s financial position and results of operations in all subsequent periods. .

Question: in 2018 what was the percent of the long-term debt maturities as part of the total contractual obligations for future payments
Answer: 50.1%
Calculation: divide(427, 853)