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Employee Benefits | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2025
Retirement Benefits [Abstract] |
Employee Benefits | Note 8—Employee Benefits For detailed descriptions of the various defined benefit pension plans (qualified and non-qualified), post-retirement benefits plans, and defined contribution plan we sponsor, see Note 11—Employee Benefits to the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes in Part II, Item 8 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. Net periodic benefit expense for the Lumen Combined Pension Plan (the "Combined Pension Plan" or the "Plan") includes the following components:
| Combined Pension Plan
| Three Months Ended September 30, |  | Nine Months Ended September 30,
| 2025 |  | 2024 |  | 2025 |  | 2024
| (Dollars in millions)
Service cost | $ | 5 |  |  | 6 |  |  | 16 |  |  | 18 |
Interest cost | 61 |  |  | 63 |  |  | 181 |  |  | 188 |
Expected return on plan assets | (64) |  |  | (68) |  |  | (191) |  |  | (204) |
Recognition of prior service credit | — |  |  | (3) |  |  | (1) |  |  | (6) |
Recognition of actuarial loss | 36 |  |  | 28 |  |  | 108 |  |  | 82 |
Net periodic pension expense | $ | 38 |  |  | 26 |  |  | 113 |  |  | 78 |
Net periodic benefit expense for our post-retirement benefit plans includes the following components:
| Post-Retirement Benefit Plans
| Three Months Ended September 30, |  | Nine Months Ended September 30,
| 2025 |  | 2024 |  | 2025 |  | 2024
| (Dollars in millions)
Service cost | $ | — |  |  | 1 |  |  | 2 |  |  | 3 |
Interest cost | 22 |  |  | 23 |  |  | 66 |  |  | 70 |
Recognition of prior service credit | (3) |  |  | (1) |  |  | (6) |  |  | (5) |
Recognition of actuarial gain | (6) |  |  | (4) |  |  | (19) |  |  | (13) |
Special termination benefits charge | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 2 |
Net periodic post-retirement benefit expense | $ | 13 |  |  | 19 |  |  | 43 |  |  | 57 |
Service costs for our pension and post-retirement benefit plans are included in the Cost of services and products (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) and Selling, general and administrative line items on our consolidated statements of operations and all other costs listed above are included in Other income, net on our consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024. As a result of ongoing efforts to reduce our workforce, we recognized a one-time charge of $2 million during the second quarter of 2024 for special termination benefit enhancements paid to certain eligible employees upon voluntary retirement. Our Combined Pension Plan contains provisions that allow us, from time to time, to offer lump sum payment options to certain former employees in settlement of their future retirement benefits. We record an accounting settlement charge, consisting of the recognition of certain deferred costs of the pension plan associated with these lump sum payments, only if in the aggregate they exceed or are probable to exceed the sum of the annual service and interest costs for the plan’s net periodic pension benefit cost, which represents the settlement accounting threshold. The amount of any future non-cash settlement charges will be dependent on several factors, including the total amount of our future lump sum benefit payments. Benefits paid by the Combined Pension Plan are paid through a trust that holds the Plan's assets. The amount of required contributions to the Combined Pension Plan in 2025 and beyond will depend on a variety of factors, most of which are beyond our control, including earnings on plan investments, prevailing interest rates, demographic experience, changes in plan benefits, and changes in funding laws and regulations. We made a voluntary contribution of $170 million to the trust for the Combined Pension Plan during the third quarter of 2024. Based on current laws and circumstances, we do not expect to be required to make any additional contributions in 2025.

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