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Employee Benefit Plans (Notes)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Disclosures [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans Employee Benefit Plans
Pension Plans

The Company sponsors qualified and nonqualified defined benefit pension plans that provide pension benefits to a majority of employees who were employed by TWC before the merger with TWC.

Changes in the projected benefit obligation, fair value of plan assets and funded status of the pension plans from January 1 through December 31 are presented below:
20212020
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year$3,688 $3,361 
Interest cost97 110 
Actuarial (gain) loss(183)436 
Settlement(173)(166)
Benefits paid(55)(53)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year (a)
$3,374 $3,688 
Accumulated benefit obligation at end of year (a)
$3,374 $3,688 
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year$3,462 $3,198 
Actual return on plan assets219 480 
Employer contributions4 3 
Settlement(173)(166)
Benefits paid(55)(53)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year (b)
$3,457 $3,462 
Funded status$83 $(226)

(a)As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, qualified pension plans represented $3.3 billion and $3.7 billion, respectively, of both the projected benefit obligation and accumulated benefit obligation, while the Company’s nonqualified pension plan represented $32 million and $36 million, respectively.
(b)The fair value of plan assets consists entirely of the Company’s qualified pension plans.

Pretax amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 consisted of the following:

December 31,
20212020
Noncurrent asset$114 $1 
Current liability(4)(5)
Long-term liability(27)(222)
Net amounts recognized in consolidated balance sheet$83 $(226)
The components of net periodic benefit (cost) for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 consisted of the following:

Year Ended December 31,
202120202019
Interest cost$(97)$(110)$(129)
Expected return on plan assets165 156 164 
Remeasurement gain (loss)237 (112)(104)
Net periodic pension benefit (cost)$305 $(66)$(69)

The remeasurement gains (losses) recorded during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 were primarily driven by changes in the discount rate as well as gains or losses to record pension assets to fair value.

The discount rates used to determine benefit obligations as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 were 3.01% and 2.70%, respectively. The Company utilized the Pri-2012/MP 2020 mortality table published by the Society of Actuaries to measure the benefit obligations as of December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Weighted average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit costs consisted of the following:

Year ended December 31,
202120202019
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets5.00 %5.00 %5.75 %
Discount rate 2.70 %3.48 %4.37 %

In developing the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, the Company considered the pension portfolio’s composition, past average rate of earnings and the Company’s future asset allocation targets. The weighted average expected long-term rate of return on plan assets and discount rate used to determine net periodic pension benefit (cost) for the year ended December 31, 2022 are expected to be 5.00% and 3.01%, respectively. The Company determined the discount rates used to determine benefit obligations and net periodic pension benefit (cost) based on the yield of a large population of high quality corporate bonds with cash flows sufficient in timing and amount to settle projected future defined benefit payments.

Pension Plan Assets

The assets of the qualified pension plans are held in a master trust in which the qualified pension plans are the only participating plans (the “Master Trust”). The investment policy for the qualified pension plans is to manage the assets of the Master Trust with the objective to provide for pension liabilities to be met, maintaining retirement income security for the participants of the plans and their beneficiaries. The investment portfolio is a mix of pooled funds invested in fixed income securities, equity securities and certain alternative investments with the objective of matching plan liability performance, diversifying risk and achieving a target investment return. Pension assets are managed in a balanced portfolio comprised of two major components: a return-seeking portion and a liability-matching portion.

The Company uses an investment strategy designed to increase the fixed income allocation as the funded status of the qualified pension plans improves. As the qualified pension plans reach set funded status milestones, the assets will be rebalanced to shift more assets from equity to fixed income. Based on the progress with this strategy, the target investment allocation for pension fund assets is permitted to vary within specified ranges subject to Investment Committee approval for return-seeking securities
and liability-matching securities. The target and actual investment allocation of the qualified pension plans by asset category consisted of the following:

December 31, 2021December 31, 2020
Target AllocationActual AllocationTarget AllocationActual Allocation
Return-seeking securities60.0 %57.3 %60.0 %57.1 %
Liability-matching securities40.0 %42.6 %40.0 %42.8 %
Other investments— %0.1 %— %0.1 %

The following tables set forth the investment assets of the qualified pension plans by level within the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2021 and 2020:

December 31, 2021December 31, 2020
Fair ValueLevel 1Level 2Fair ValueLevel 1Level 2
Cash$2 $2 $— $4 $4 $— 
Commingled bond funds(a)
1,398 — 1,398 1,449 — 1,449 
Commingled equity funds(a)
1,160 — 1,160 1,255 — 1,255 
Collective trust funds(b)
150 — 150 178 — 178 
Total investment assets2,710 $2 $2,708 2,886 $4 $2,882 
Accrued investment income and other receivables247 19 
Accrued liabilities(46)— 
Investments measured at net asset value(c)
546 557 
Fair value of plan assets$3,457 $3,462 

(a)Commingled funds include bond funds with corporate and U.S. treasury debt securities and equity funds with global equity index, infrastructure and real estate securities that have a readily determinable fair value and are valued using the net assets provided by the administrator of the fund. The value of each fund is based on the fair value of underlying securities in the portfolio, which represents the amount that the fund might reasonably expect to receive for the securities upon a sale, less liabilities, and then divided by the number of units outstanding. Equity securities within the funds are valued using observable inputs on either a daily or weekly basis and the resulting per share value serves as a basis for current redemption value. Debt securities within the funds are valued based on observable prices from the new issue market, benchmark quotes, secondary trading and dealer quotes.
(b)Collective trust funds consist of short-term investment strategies comprised of instruments issued or fully guaranteed by the U.S. government and/or its agencies and multi-strategy funds, which are valued using the net assets provided by the administrator of the fund. The value of each fund is based on the readily determinable fair value of the underlying assets owned by the fund, less liabilities, and then divided by the number of units outstanding.
(c)As a practical expedient, certain investment classes which hold securities that are not readily available for redemption and are measured at fair value using the net asset value ("NAV") per share (or its equivalent) have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy.

Investments Measured at Net Asset Value per Share Practical Expedient

The following table summarizes the investment classes for which fair value is measured using the NAV per share (or its equivalent) practical expedient as of December 31, 2021 and 2020. These investment classes are not readily available for redemption. The NAV of each fund is based on the fair value of underlying assets in the portfolio. Certain investments report
NAV per share on a month or quarter lag. There are no material unfunded commitments with respect to these investment classes.

Fair Value
December 31, Redemption Frequency (if currently eligible)Redemption Notice Period
20212020
Alternative funds(a)
$328 $283 weekly, monthly, quarterly1-180 days
Fixed income funds(b)
95 148 daily, monthly10-40 days
Real estate funds(c)
123 126 quarterly45-90 days
Investments measured at NAV$546 $557 

(a)The alternative fund investment class includes funds with various securities selected to provide complimentary sources of return with our equity and bond portfolios that better manage risk.  The Company’s alternative fund investments include holdings such as public equities, exchange traded derivatives, and corporate bonds, among others. A portion of the alternative funds cannot be redeemed until the one year anniversary of the purchase date.
(b)Fixed income funds invest in residential and commercial mortgages, as well as global sovereign securities.
(c)Real estate funds are not publicly traded and invest primarily in unlisted direct core real estate, including super-regional malls, shopping centers, and commercial real estate (e.g. education, healthcare and storage).

Pension Plan Contributions
The Company made no cash contributions to the qualified pension plans during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019; however, the Company may make discretionary cash contributions to the qualified pension plans in the future. Such contributions will be dependent on a variety of factors, including current and expected interest rates, asset performance, the funded status of the qualified pension plans and management’s judgment. For the nonqualified unfunded pension plan, the Company will continue to make contributions during 2022 to the extent benefits are paid.

Benefit payments for the pension plans are expected to be $227 million in 2022, $217 million in 2023, $206 million in 2024, $196 million in 2025, $188 million in 2026 and $843 million in 2027 to 2031.

Multiemployer Plans

The Company contributes to multiemployer plans under the terms of collective-bargaining agreements that cover its union-represented employees. Such multiemployer plans provide medical, pension and retirement savings benefits to active employees and retirees. The Company made contributions to multiemployer plans of $3 million, $7 million and $9 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, other long-term liabilities includes approximately $94 million and $98 million, respectively, related to the Company's withdrawal from a multiemployer pension plan.

Defined Contribution Benefit Plans

The Company’s employees may participate in the Charter Communications, Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan (the “401(k) Plan”). Employees that qualify for participation can contribute up to 50% of their salary, on a pre-tax basis, subject to a maximum contribution limit as determined by the IRS. The Company’s matching contribution is discretionary and is equal to 100% of the amount of the salary reduction the participant elects to defer (up to 6% of the participant’s eligible compensation), excluding any catch-up contributions and is paid by the Company on a per pay period basis. The Company made contributions to the 401(k) plan totaling $328 million, $331 million and $303 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

For employees who are not eligible to participate in the Company’s long-term incentive plan and who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the Company offers a contribution to the Retirement Accumulation Plan ("RAP"), equal to 3% of eligible pay. The Company made contributions to the RAP totaling $167 million, $162 million and $152 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.