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Employee Benefit Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Retirement Benefits, Description [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
Pension Plans. CME maintains a non-contributory defined benefit cash balance pension plan for eligible employees. CME's plan provides for a pay-based credit added to the cash balance account based on age and earnings and includes salary and cash bonuses in the definition of earnings. Employees who have completed a continuous 12-month period of employment and have reached the age of 21 are eligible to participate. Participant cash balance accounts receive an interest credit equal to the greater of the one-year constant maturity yield for U.S. Treasury notes or 4.0%. Participants become vested in their accounts after three years of service. The measurement date used for the plan is December 31.
The following is a summary of the change in projected benefit obligation:
(in millions)20232022
Balance at January 1$316.4 $386.0 
Service cost21.1 25.7 
Interest cost18.5 12.0 
Actuarial (gain) loss18.3 (86.7)
Benefits paid(22.8)(20.6)
Balance at December 31$351.5 $316.4 
The aggregate accumulated benefit obligation was $323.2 million and $294.4 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
The following is a summary of the change in fair value of plan assets:
(in millions)202320222021
Balance at January 1$331.7 $402.3 $388.2 
Actual return on plan assets38.9 (50.0)34.0 
Employer contributions3.0 — — 
Benefits paid(22.8)(20.6)(19.9)
Balance at December 31$350.8 $331.7 $402.3 
The plan assets are classified into a fair value hierarchy in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to each asset or liability’s fair value measurement. Valuation techniques for level 2 assets use significant observable inputs such as quoted prices for similar assets, quoted market prices in inactive markets and other inputs that are observable or can be supported by observable market data.
The fair value of each major category of plan assets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 is indicated below:
(in millions)20232022
Level 2:
Money market funds$6.2 $16.6 
Mutual funds:
Fixed income165.3 131.6 
U.S. equity131.6 129.8 
Foreign equity47.7 53.7 
Total$350.8 $331.7 
At December 31, 2023, the fair value of pension plan assets had a shortfall of the projected benefit obligation by $0.7 million and the shortfall was recorded as a non-current pension liability in other liabilities. At December 31, 2022, the fair value of pension plan assets exceeded the pension benefit obligation by $15.3 million and the excess was recorded as a non-current pension asset in other assets.
CME's funding goal is to have its pension plan 100% funded at each year-end on a projected benefit obligation basis, while also satisfying any minimum required contribution and obtaining the maximum tax deduction. Year-end 2023 assumptions have been used to project the assets and liabilities from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2024. The company anticipates based on this projection that an additional contribution of $16.9 million in 2024 will be necessary for it to meet its funding goal. However, the amount of the actual contribution is contingent on various factors, including the actual rate of return on the plan assets during 2024 and the December 31, 2024 discount rate.
The components of net pension expense and the assumptions used to determine the end-of-year projected benefit obligation and net pension expense in aggregate at December 31, 2023 and 2022 and 2021 are indicated below:
(in millions)202320222021
Components of Net Pension Expense:
Service cost$21.1 $25.7 $27.8 
Interest cost18.5 12.0 10.7 
Expected return on plan assets(21.6)(22.3)(21.7)
Recognized net actuarial loss0.3 1.4 4.5 
Net Pension Expense$18.3 $16.8 $21.3 
Assumptions Used to Determine End-of-Year Benefit Obligation:
Discount rate5.20 %5.60 %3.00 %
Rate of compensation increase4.00 4.00 4.00 
Cash balance interest crediting rate5.14 4.75 4.00 
Assumptions Used to Determine Net Pension Expense:
Discount rate5.60 %3.00 %2.70 %
Rate of compensation increase4.00 4.00 4.00 
Expected return on plan assets6.75 5.75 5.75 
Interest crediting rate4.75 4.00 4.00 
The discount rate for the plan was determined based on the market value of a theoretical settlement bond portfolio. This portfolio consisted of U.S. dollar denominated Aa-rated corporate bonds across the full maturity spectrum. A single equivalent discount rate was determined to align the present value of the required cash flow with that settlement value. The resulting discount rate was reflective of both the current interest rate environment and the plan's distinct liability characteristics.
The basis for determining the expected rate of return on plan assets for the plan is comprised of three components: historical returns, industry peers and forecasted return. The plan's total return is expected to equal the composite performance of the security markets over the long term. The security markets are represented by the returns on various domestic and international stock, bond and commodity indexes. These returns are weighted according to the allocation of plan assets to each market and measured individually.
The overall objective of the plan is to achieve required long-term rates of return in order to meet future benefit payments. The component of the investment policy for the plan that has the most significant impact on returns is the asset mix. The asset mix has a minimum and maximum range depending on asset class. The plan assets are diversified to minimize the risk of large losses by any one or more individual assets. Such diversification is accomplished, in part, through the selection of asset mix and investment management. The asset allocation for the plan, by asset category, at December 31, 2023 and 2022 was as follows:
20232022
Fixed income47.1 %39.7 %
Money market funds1.8 5.0 
U.S. equity37.5 39.1 
Foreign equity13.6 16.2 
For 2024, management expects the fixed income asset class to be approximately 50% of the portfolio. The target allocation for the equity asset classes is expected to be approximately 50% of the portfolio.
At times, the company may determine that it is necessary to place some assets in cash equivalent investments in order to pay expected plan liabilities. Given this, the actual asset allocation for the plan may not fall within the target allocation ranges from time to time.
According to the plan's investment policy, the plan is not allowed to invest in securities that compromise independence, short sales of securities directly owned by the plan, securities purchased on margin or other uses of borrowed funds, derivatives not used for hedging purposes, restricted stock or illiquid securities or any other transaction prohibited by employment laws. If the plan directly invests in short-term and long-term debt obligations, the investments are limited to obligations rated at the highest rating category by Standard & Poor's or Moody's.
The pre-tax balance and activity of actuarial losses for the pension plan, which are included in other comprehensive income (loss), for 2023 are as follows:
(in millions)Actuarial
Loss
Balance at January 1$32.2 
Unrecognized net loss1.1 
Recognized as a component of net pension expense(0.3)
Balance at December 31$33.0 
At December 31, 2023, anticipated benefit payments from the plan in future years are as follows:
(in millions)
2024$32.1 
202532.5 
202633.8 
202734.5 
202835.2 
2029-2033182.6 
Savings Plans. CME maintains a defined contribution savings plan pursuant to Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, whereby all U.S. employees are participants and have the option to contribute to this plan. CME matches employee contributions up to 3% of the employee's base salary and may make additional discretionary contributions.
In addition to the plan for U.S. employees, the company maintains defined contribution savings plans for employees in international locations.
Aggregate expense for all of the defined contribution savings plans amounted to $19.7 million, $18.3 million and $24.7 million in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
CME Non-Qualified Plans. CME maintains non-qualified plans, under which participants may make assumed investment choices with respect to amounts contributed on their behalf. Although not required to do so, CME invests such contributions in assets that mirror the assumed investment choices. The balances in these plans are subject to the claims of general creditors of the company and totaled $101.3 million and $84.5 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Although the value of the plans is recorded as an asset in marketable securities on the consolidated balance sheets, there is an equal and offsetting liability. The investment results of these plans have no impact on net income as the investment results are recorded in equal amounts to both investment income and compensation and benefits expense. The non-qualified plans include the following:
Supplemental Savings Plan. CME maintains a supplemental plan to provide benefits for employees who have been impacted by statutory limits under the provisions of the qualified pension and savings plan. Employees in this plan are subject to the vesting requirements of the underlying qualified plans.
Deferred Compensation Plan. A deferred compensation plan is maintained by CME, under which eligible employees and members of the board of directors may contribute a percentage of their compensation and defer income taxes thereon until the time of distribution.
COMEX Members' Retirement Plan and Benefits. COMEX maintains a non-qualified retirement and benefit plan under the COMEX Members' Retirement Plan and Benefits plan (MRRP). This plan provides benefits to certain members of the COMEX division based on long-term membership, and participation is limited to individuals who were COMEX division members prior to NYMEX's acquisition of COMEX in 1994. No new participants were permitted into the plan after the date of this acquisition. All benefits to be paid under the MRRP are based on reasonable actuarial assumptions, which are based upon the amounts that are available and are expected to be available to pay benefits. There were no contributions to the plan in 2023, 2022 and 2021. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the obligation for the MRRP totaled $8.7 million and $10.3 million, respectively. Assets with a fair value of $10.8 million and $12.0 million have been allocated to this plan at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and are included in marketable securities and cash and cash equivalents on the consolidated balance sheets. The balances in this plan are subject to the claims of general creditors of COMEX.