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Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits
We maintain five funded pension plans, consisting of three in North America (one U.S. plan and two Canadian plans) and two in the United Kingdom. Both U.K. pension plans are closed to new employees and future accruals. All of our North American plans are closed to new employees. As a result of plan amendments in the fourth quarter of 2022, as further described below, one of the Canadian plans ceased future accruals effective December 31, 2023, and the cash balance portion of the U.S. plan that provided benefits based on years of service and interest credits was closed to new employees effective December 31, 2022. We also provide group medical insurance benefits, which vary by group and location, to certain retirees in North America.
On July 15, 2022, we entered into an agreement with an insurance company to purchase a non-participating group annuity contract and transfer approximately $375 million of our primary U.S. defined benefit pension plan’s projected benefit obligation. The transaction closed on July 22, 2022 and was funded with plan assets. Under the transaction, the insurance company assumed responsibility for pension benefits and annuity administration for approximately 4,000 retirees or their beneficiaries. As a result of this transaction, in the third quarter of 2022, we remeasured the plan’s projected benefit obligation and plan assets and recognized a non-cash pre-tax pension settlement loss of $24 million, reflecting the unamortized net unrecognized postretirement benefit costs related to the settled obligations, with a corresponding offset to accumulated other comprehensive loss. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the final settlement of the non-participating group annuity contract resulted in a refund of $4 million, which decreased the settlement loss by $3 million to $21 million.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, we remeasured certain of our defined benefit pension plans due to plan amendments resulting from a revision to our North American retirement plan strategy, which, among other things, closed the cash balance portion of the U.S. plan that was previously open to new employees and established effective dates for each of the three North America plans to freeze future benefit accruals through the end of 2025. The plan curtailments resulted in a reduction in our benefit obligations of $20 million and curtailment gains of $4 million, which are reflected in other non-operating—net in our consolidated statement of operations.
Our plan assets, benefit obligations, funded status and amounts recognized on our consolidated balance sheets for our North America and United Kingdom plans as of the December 31 measurement date are as follows:
Pension PlansRetiree Medical Plans
 North AmericaUnited KingdomNorth America
December 31,December 31,December 31,
 202420232024202320242023
 (in millions)
Change in plan assets
Fair value of plan assets as of January 1$313 $273 $360 $320 $— $— 
Return on plan assets10 29 (7)19 — — 
Employer contributions— 19 22 25 2 2 
Benefit payments(13)(11)(24)(22)(2)(2)
Foreign currency translation(11)3 (6)18 — — 
Fair value of plan assets as of December 31299 313 345 360 — — 
Change in benefit obligation
Benefit obligation as of January 1(292)(274)(367)(347)(20)(23)
Service cost(5)(5)— — — — 
Interest cost(13)(13)(16)(16)(1)(1)
Benefit payments13 11 24 22 2 2 
Foreign currency translation9 (3)5 (19)— — 
Change in assumptions and other10 (8)37 (7)— 2 
Benefit obligation as of December 31(278)(292)(317)(367)(19)(20)
Funded status as of December 31$21 $21 $28 $(7)$(19)$(20)
For our North America pension plans, the line titled “change in assumptions and other” for 2024 primarily reflects the impact of gains due to the increase in discount rates, partially offset by the increase in the interest crediting rate for the cash balance portion of the U.S. plan and, for 2023, primarily reflects losses due to the decrease in discount rates. 
For our United Kingdom pension plans, the line titled “change in assumptions and other” for 2024 primarily reflects gains due to the increase in discount rates and, for 2023, primarily reflects losses due to the decrease in discount rates and increase in the inflation rate assumptions, partially offset by the change in mortality assumptions.
Amounts recognized on the consolidated balance sheets consist of the following:
Pension PlansRetiree Medical Plans
 North AmericaUnited KingdomNorth America
 December 31,December 31,December 31,
 202420232024202320242023
 (in millions)
Other assets$21 $23 $28 $— $— $— 
Accounts payable and accrued expenses— — — — (2)(2)
Other liabilities— (2)— (7)(17)(18)
$21 $21 $28 $(7)$(19)$(20)

Pre-tax amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss consist of the following:
Pension PlansRetiree Medical Plans
 North AmericaUnited KingdomNorth America
 December 31,December 31,December 31,
 202420232024202320242023
 (in millions)
Prior service cost$— $— $1 $1 $— $— 
Net actuarial (gain) loss(3)1 71 73 (5)(6)
$(3)$1 $72 $74 $(5)$(6)
Net periodic benefit cost (income) and other amounts recognized in other comprehensive (income) loss for the years ended December 31 included the following:
 Pension PlansRetiree Medical Plans
North AmericaUnited KingdomNorth America
 202420232022202420232022202420232022
 (in millions)
Service cost$5 $5 $16 $— $— $— $— $— $— 
Interest cost13 13 19 16 16 10 1 1 1 
Expected return on plan assets(16)(15)(22)(28)(25)(14)— — — 
Settlement loss— — 21 — — — — — — 
Curtailment gains— — (4)— — — — — — 
Amortization of prior service cost— — 1 — — — — — — 
Amortization of actuarial loss (gain)— — — — — 2 — (1)— 
Net periodic benefit cost (income)2 3 31 (12)(9)(2)1 — 1 
Net actuarial (gain) loss (4)(6)(2)(1)14 (22)1 (2)(8)
Settlement loss— — (21)— — — — — — 
Curtailment effects— — (20)— — — — — — 
Curtailment gains— — 4 — — — — — — 
Amortization of prior service cost— — (1)— — — — — — 
Amortization of actuarial (loss) gain— — — — — (2)— 1 — 
Total recognized in other comprehensive (income) loss(4)(6)(40)(1)14 (24)1 (1)(8)
Total recognized in net periodic benefit cost (income) and other comprehensive (income) loss$(2)$(3)$(9)$(13)$5 $(26)$2 $(1)$(7)
Service cost is recognized in cost of sales and selling, general and administrative expenses, and the other components of net periodic benefit cost are recognized in other non-operating—net in our consolidated statements of operations.    
The accumulated benefit obligation (ABO) in aggregate for the defined benefit pension plans in North America was approximately $277 million and $290 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The ABO in aggregate for the defined benefit pension plans in the United Kingdom was approximately $317 million and $367 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
The following table presents aggregated information for those individual defined benefit pension plans that have an ABO in excess of plan assets as of December 31, which excludes all five of the defined benefit pension plans in 2024, and for 2023, excludes all three of the North America defined benefit pension plans, as each had plan assets in excess of its ABO:
North AmericaUnited Kingdom
2024202320242023
 (in millions)
Accumulated benefit obligation$— $— $— $(367)
Fair value of plan assets— — — 360 
The following table presents aggregated information for those individual defined benefit pension plans that have a projected benefit obligation (PBO) in excess of plan assets as of December 31, which excludes all five of the defined benefit pension plans in 2024, and for 2023, excludes two North America defined benefit pension plans as each had plan assets in excess of its PBO:
North AmericaUnited Kingdom
2024202320242023
 (in millions)
Projected benefit obligation$— $(176)$— $(367)
Fair value of plan assets— 174 — 360 
Our pension funding policy in North America is to contribute amounts sufficient to meet minimum legal funding requirements plus discretionary amounts that we may deem to be appropriate. Actual contributions may vary from estimated amounts depending on changes in assumptions, actual returns on plan assets, changes in regulatory requirements and funding decisions.
In accordance with United Kingdom pension legislation, our United Kingdom pension funding policy is to contribute amounts sufficient to meet the funding level target agreed between the employer and the trustees of the United Kingdom plans.  Actual contributions are usually agreed with the plan trustees in connection with each triennial valuation and may vary following each such review depending on changes in assumptions, actual returns on plan assets, changes in regulatory requirements and funding decisions.
We currently estimate that our consolidated pension funding cash contributions for 2025 will be approximately $1 million for our North American plans and, as agreed with the plans’ trustees, $5 million for our United Kingdom plans.
The expected future benefit payments for our pension and retiree medical plans are as follows:
Pension PlansRetiree Medical Plans
North AmericaUnited KingdomNorth America
 (in millions)
2025$14 $25 $2 
202615 25 2 
202716 26 2 
202816 27 2 
202917 27 2 
2030-203492 148 7 
The following assumptions were used in determining the benefit obligations and expense:
Pension PlansRetiree Medical Plans
 North AmericaUnited KingdomNorth America
 202420232022202420232022202420232022
Weighted-average discount rate—obligation5.2 %4.8 %5.1 %5.5 %4.6 %4.8 %5.4 %4.8 %5.0 %
Weighted-average discount rate—expense4.8 %5.1 %3.6 %4.6 %4.8 %2.0 %4.8 %5.0 %2.7 %
Weighted-average cash balance interest crediting rate—obligation 4.4 %3.9 %3.9 %n/an/an/an/an/an/a
Weighted-average cash balance interest crediting rate—expense3.9 %3.9 %3.0 %n/an/an/an/an/an/a
Weighted-average rate of increase in future compensation3.3 %3.3 %3.8 %n/an/an/an/an/an/a
Weighted-average expected long-term rate of return on assets—expense5.0 %4.8 %3.9 %6.5 %6.1 %3.4 %n/an/an/a
Weighted-average retail price index—obligationn/an/an/a3.1 %3.0 %3.2 %n/an/an/a
Weighted-average retail price index—expensen/an/an/a3.0 %3.2 %3.3 %n/an/an/a
______________________________________________________________________________
n/a—not applicable
The discount rates for all plans are developed by plan using spot rates derived from a hypothetical yield curve of high quality (AA rated or better) fixed income debt securities as of the year-end measurement date to calculate discounted cash flows (the projected benefit obligation) and solving for a single equivalent discount rate that produces the same projected benefit obligation. In determining our benefit obligation, we use the actuarial present value of the vested benefits to which each eligible employee is currently entitled, based on the employee’s expected date of separation or retirement.
The cash balance interest crediting rate for the U.S. plan is based on the greater of 10-year Treasuries or 3.0%.
For our North America plans, the expected long-term rate of return on assets is based on analysis of historical rates of return achieved by equity and non-equity investments and current market characteristics, adjusted for estimated plan expenses and weighted by target asset allocation percentages. As of January 1, 2025, our weighted-average expected long-term rate of
return on assets for our North America plans is 5.1%, which will be used in determining net periodic benefit cost for our North America plans for 2025.
For our United Kingdom plans, the expected long-term rate of return on assets is based on the expected long-term performance of the underlying investments, adjusted for investment managers’ fees and estimated plan expenses. As of January 1, 2025, our weighted-average expected long-term rate of return on assets for our United Kingdom plans is 6.1%, which will be used in determining net periodic benefit cost for our United Kingdom plans for 2025.
The retail price index for our United Kingdom plans is developed using a U.K. Government Gilt Prices Only retail price inflation curve, which is based on the difference between yields on fixed interest government bonds and index-linked government bonds.
For the measurement of the benefit obligation at December 31, 2024 for our primary (U.S.) retiree medical benefit plans, the assumed health care cost trend rates, for pre-age 65 retirees, start with an 8.4% increase in 2025, followed by a gradual decline in increases to 4.5% for 2034 and thereafter. For post-age 65 retirees, the assumed health care cost trend rates start with a 9.8% increase in 2025, followed by a gradual decline in increases to 4.5% for 2034 and thereafter. For the measurement of the benefit obligation at December 31, 2023 for our primary (U.S.) retiree medical benefit plans, the assumed health care cost trend rates, for pre-age 65 retirees, started with an 8.0% increase in 2024, followed by a gradual decline in increases to 4.5% for 2033 and thereafter. For post-age 65 retirees, the assumed health care cost trend rates started with an 8.4% increase in 2024, followed by a gradual decline in increases to 4.5% for 2033 and thereafter.
The objectives of the investment policies governing the pension plans are to administer the assets of the plans for the benefit of the participants in compliance with all laws and regulations, and to establish an asset mix that provides for diversification and considers the risk of various different asset classes with the purpose of generating favorable investment returns. The investment policies consider circumstances such as participant demographics, time horizon to retirement and liquidity needs, and provide guidelines for asset allocation, planning horizon, general portfolio issues and investment manager evaluation criteria. The investment strategies for the plans, including target asset allocations and investment vehicles, are subject to change within the guidelines of the policies.
The target asset allocation for our U.S. pension plan is 80% non-equity and 20% equity, which has been determined based on analysis of actual historical rates of return and plan needs and circumstances. The equity investments are tailored to exceed the growth of the benefit obligation and are a combination of U.S. and non-U.S. total stock market index mutual funds. The non-equity investments consist primarily of investments in debt securities and money market instruments that are selected based on investment quality and duration to mitigate volatility of the funded status and annual required contributions. The non-equity investments have a duration profile that is similar to the benefit obligation in order to mitigate the impact of interest rate changes on the funded status. This investment strategy is achieved through the use of mutual funds and individual securities.
The target asset allocation for both of the Canadian plans is 100% non-equity. This investment strategy is achieved through the use of individual securities. The investments consist primarily of investments in debt securities that are selected based on investment quality and duration to mitigate volatility of the funded status and annual required contributions. The investments have a duration profile that is similar to the benefit obligation in order to mitigate the impact of interest rate changes on the funded status.
The pension assets in the United Kingdom plans are each administered by a Board of Trustees consisting of employer-nominated trustees, member-nominated trustees and an independent trustee, with a requirement that member-nominated trustees represent at least one-third of each Board of Trustees. It is the responsibility of the trustees to ensure prudent management and investment of the assets in the plans. The trustees meet on a quarterly basis to review and discuss fund performance and other administrative matters. The trustees’ investment objectives are to hold assets that generate returns sufficient to cover prudently each plan’s liability without exposing the plans to unacceptable risk. This is accomplished through the asset allocation strategy of each plan. For both plans, if the asset allocation moves more than plus or minus 5% from the target allocation, the plans’ appointed investment manager would amend the asset allocation. The trustees formally review the investment strategy on an annual basis which includes taking account of the latest actuarial data, such as changes to member experience. A full review is also completed of the investment strategy at every triennial actuarial valuation to ensure that the strategy remains consistent with its funding principles. The trustees may review the strategy more frequently if opportunities arise to reduce risk within the investments without jeopardizing the funding position.
Assets of the United Kingdom plans are invested in pooled funds managed by the appointed investment manager. The assets are allocated between a growth portfolio and a matching portfolio. The growth portfolio seeks a return premium on investments across multiple asset classes. Growth portfolio funds may include, among others, traditional equities and bonds, growth fixed income, and hedged funds, and may use derivatives. The matching portfolio seeks to align asset changes with
changes in liabilities due to interest rates and inflation expectations. Matching portfolio funds are composed of corporate bonds, U.K. gilts and liability-driven investment funds and generally invest in fixed income debt securities including government bonds, gilts, gilt repurchase agreements, swaps and investment grade corporate bonds and may use derivatives. The target asset allocation for one of the United Kingdom plans was reduced to 25% from 46% in the growth portfolio and increased to 75% from 54% in the matching portfolio. The target asset allocation for the other United Kingdom plan was reduced to 30% from 57% in the growth portfolio and increased to 70% from 43% in the matching portfolio. The change in the target asset allocations reflected the reduction in the funding deficits. In 2024, the legacy holding in an actively managed property fund was fully redeemed and invested back into the plan’s portfolio.
The fair values of our pension plan assets as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, by major asset class, are as follows:
 North America
December 31, 2024
Total Fair
Value		Quoted
Prices in
Active
Markets
(Level 1)		Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2)		Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
 (in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents(1)
$2 $1 $1 $— 
Equity mutual funds
Index equity(2)
41 41 — — 
Fixed income    
U.S. Treasury bonds and notes(3)
14 14 — — 
    Fixed income mutual funds(4)
42 42 — — 
Corporate bonds and notes(5)
100 — 100 — 
Government and agency securities(6)
90 — 90 — 
Other(7)
10 — 10 — 
Total assets at fair value by fair value levels$299 $98 $201 $— 
Accruals and payables—net— 
Total assets$299    
 United Kingdom
December 31, 2024
Total Fair
Value		Quoted
Prices in
Active
Markets
(Level 1)		Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2)		Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
 (in millions)
Cash and cash funds(8)
$2 $1 $1 $— 
Pooled equity funds(9)
14 — 14 — 
Pooled diversified funds(10)
31 — 31 — 
Debt funds
Pooled U.K. government fixed and index-linked securities funds(11)
78 — 78 — 
Pooled global debt funds(12)
124 — 124 — 
Pooled liability-driven investment funds(13)
52 — 52 — 
Total assets at fair value by fair value levels$301 $1 $300 $— 
Funds measured at NAV as a practical expedient(14)
43 
Total assets at fair value$344 
Receivable from redemption1 
Total assets$345 
 North America
December 31, 2023
 Total Fair
Value		Quoted
Prices in
Active
Markets
(Level 1)		Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2)		Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
 (in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents(1)
$1 $— $1 $— 
Short-term investments(15)
3 1 2 — 
Equity mutual funds
Index equity(2)
35 35 — — 
Pooled equity(16)
16 — 16 — 
Fixed income
U.S. Treasury bonds and notes(3)
17 17 — — 
Fixed income mutual funds(4)
45 11 34 — 
Corporate bonds and notes(5)
101 — 101 — 
Government and agency securities(6)
88 — 88 — 
Other(7)
8 — 8 — 
Total assets at fair value by fair value levels$314 $64 $250 $— 
Accruals and payables—net(1)   
Total assets$313    
 United Kingdom
December 31, 2023
 Total Fair
Value		Quoted
Prices in
Active
Markets
(Level 1)		Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2)		Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
 (in millions)
Cash and cash funds$13 $13 $— $— 
Pooled equity funds(9)
44 — 44 — 
Pooled diversified funds(10)
54 — 54 — 
Debt funds
Pooled U.K. government fixed and index-linked securities funds(11)
54 — 54 — 
Pooled global debt funds(12)
74 — 74 — 
Pooled liability-driven investment funds(13)
68 — 68 — 
Total assets at fair value by fair value levels$307 $13 $294 $— 
Funds measured at NAV as a practical expedient(14)
47 
Total assets at fair value$354 
Receivable from redemption6 
Total assets$360 
_______________________________________________________________________________
(1)Cash and cash equivalents are primarily short-term money market funds.
(2)The index equity funds are mutual funds that utilize a passively managed investment approach designed to track specific equity indices. They are valued at quoted market prices in an active market, which represent the net asset values (NAVs) of the shares held by the plan.
(3)U.S. Treasury bonds and notes are valued based on quoted market prices in an active market.
(4)The fixed income mutual funds invest primarily in high-quality longer duration fixed income securities, which include bonds, debt securities and other similar instruments. The funds are priced based on a daily published NAV.
(5)Corporate bonds and notes, including private placement securities, are valued by institutional bond pricing services, which gather information from market sources and integrate credit information, observed market movements and sector news into their pricing applications and models.
(6)Government and agency securities consist of U.S. municipal bonds and Canadian provincial bonds that are valued by institutional bond pricing services, which gather information on current trading activity, market movements, trends, and specific data on specialty issues.
(7)Other includes primarily mortgage-backed, asset-backed securities and U.S. Treasury strips. Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are valued by institutional pricing services, which gather information from market sources and integrate credit information, observed market movements and sector news into their pricing applications and models. U.S. Treasury strips are valued using stripped interest and stripped principal yield curves based on data obtained from various dealer contacts and live data sources.
(8)Cash and cash funds as of December 31, 2024 includes a cash fund that invests primarily in short-dated money market instruments.
(9)Pooled equity funds invest in a broad array of global equity, equity-related securities, a range of diversifiers and may use derivatives for efficient portfolio management. The funds are valued at NAV as determined by the fund managers based on the value of the underlying net assets of the fund.
(10)Pooled diversified funds invest in a broad array of asset classes and a range of diversifiers including the use of derivatives. The funds are valued at NAV as determined by the fund managers based on the value of the underlying net assets of the fund.
(11)Pooled U.K. government fixed and index-linked securities funds invest primarily in Sterling denominated fixed income and inflation-linked fixed income securities issued or guaranteed by the U.K. government and may use derivatives for efficient portfolio management. The funds are valued at NAV as determined by the fund managers based on the value of the underlying net assets of the fund.
(12)Pooled global debt funds invest in a broad array of debt securities from corporate and government bonds to emerging markets and high-yield fixed and floating rate securities of varying maturities and may use derivatives for efficient portfolio management. The funds are valued at NAV as determined by the fund managers based on the value of the underlying net assets of the fund.
(13)Pooled liability-driven investment funds primarily invest, either through a sub-fund or directly, in gilt repurchase agreements, physical U.K. government gilts, other inflation-linked fixed income securities, and derivatives to provide exposure to interest rates and inflation, thus hedging these elements of risk associated with pension liabilities. The funds are valued at NAV as determined by the fund managers based on the value of the underlying net assets of the fund.
(14)Funds measured at NAV as a practical expedient include funds of funds with return strategies with exposure to varying asset classes and credit strategies, as well as alternative investment strategies not precluding multi-asset credit strategies, global macro strategies, commodities, fixed income, equities and currency, and funds that invest primarily in freehold and leasehold property in the United Kingdom. The funds are valued using NAV as determined by the fund managers based on the value of the underlying assets of the fund.
(15)Short-term investments are primarily U.S. and Canadian treasury bills with original maturities longer than three months but less than a year.
(16)The equity pooled mutual funds consist of pooled funds that invest in common stock and other equity securities that are traded on U.S., Canadian, and foreign markets.
We have defined contribution plans covering substantially all employees in North America and the United Kingdom. Depending on the specific provisions of each plan, qualified employees receive company contributions based on a percentage of base salary or base salary and incentive pay, matching of employee contributions up to specified limits, or a combination of both. In 2024, 2023 and 2022, we recognized expense related to our contributions to the defined contribution plans of $37 million, $34 million and $19 million, respectively.
In addition to our qualified defined benefit pension plans, we also maintain certain nonqualified supplemental pension plans for highly compensated employees as defined under federal law. The amounts recognized in accrued expenses and other liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets for these plans were $1 million and $9 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2024, and $1 million and $10 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2023. We recognized expense for these plans of $1 million in each of the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022.