fair valuation the following table shows the expected versus actual rate of return on plan assets for the u.s . pension and postretirement plans: .
what was the percentage increase of the expected return from 2007 to 2008
for the foreign plans , pension expense for 2008 was reduced by the expected return of $ 487 million , compared with the actual return of $ ( 883 ) million . pension expense for 2007 and 2006 was reduced by expected returns of $ 477 million and $ 384 million , respectively . actual returns were higher in 2007 and 2006 than the expected returns in those years . discount rate the 2008 and 2007 discount rates for the u.s . pension and postretirement plans were selected by reference to a citigroup-specific analysis using each plan 2019s specific cash flows and compared with the moody 2019s aa long-term corporate bond yield for reasonableness . citigroup 2019s policy is to round to the nearest tenth of a percent . accordingly , at december 31 , 2008 , the discount rate was set at 6.1% ( 6.1 % ) for the pension plans and at 6.0% ( 6.0 % ) for the postretirement welfare plans . at december 31 , 2007 , the discount rate was set at 6.2% ( 6.2 % ) for the pension plans and 6.0% ( 6.0 % ) for the postretirement plans , referencing a citigroup-specific cash flow analysis . as of september 30 , 2006 , the u.s . pension plan was remeasured to reflect the freeze of benefits accruals for all non-grandfathered participants , effective january 1 , 2008 . under the september 30 , 2006 remeasurement and year-end analysis , the resulting plan-specific discount rate for the pension plan was 5.86% ( 5.86 % ) , which was rounded to 5.9% ( 5.9 % ) . the discount rates for the foreign pension and postretirement plans are selected by reference to high-quality corporate bond rates in countries that have developed corporate bond markets . however , where developed corporate bond markets do not exist , the discount rates are selected by reference to local government bond rates with a premium added to reflect the additional risk for corporate bonds . for additional information on the pension and postretirement plans , and on discount rates used in determining pension and postretirement benefit obligations and net benefit expense for the company 2019s plans , as well as the effects of a one percentage-point change in the expected rates of return and the discount rates , see note 9 to the company 2019s consolidated financial statements on page 144 . adoption of sfas 158 upon the adoption of sfas no . 158 , employer 2019s accounting for defined benefit pensions and other postretirement benefits ( sfas 158 ) , at december 31 , 2006 , the company recorded an after-tax charge to equity of $ 1.6 billion , which corresponds to the plans 2019 net pension and postretirement liabilities and the write-off of the existing prepaid asset , which relates to unamortized actuarial gains and losses , prior service costs/benefits and transition assets/liabilities . for a discussion of fair value of assets and liabilities , see 201csignificant accounting policies and significant estimates 201d on page 18 and notes 26 , 27 and 28 to the consolidated financial statements on pages 192 , 202 and 207. .