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Employee Benefits | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2024
Retirement Benefits [Abstract] |
Employee Benefits | Note 10—Employee Benefits Pension and Post-Retirement Benefits QCII's post-retirement benefit plans were merged into Lumen's post-retirement benefit plans on January 1, 2012, and on December 31, 2014, QCII's qualified pension plan and a pension plan of an affiliate were merged into the CenturyLink Retirement Plan, which is now named the Lumen Combined Pension Plan (the "LCPP"). Based on current laws and circumstances, (i) Lumen Technologies was not required to make a cash contribution to the LCPP in 2024 and (ii) Lumen Technologies does not expect it will be required to make a contribution in 2025. The amount of required contributions to the LCPP in 2025 and beyond will depend on earnings on plan investments, prevailing discount rates, demographic experience, changes in plan benefits and changes in funding laws and regulations. Lumen Technologies occasionally makes voluntary contributions in addition to required contributions. Lumen Technologies made a voluntary contribution of $170 million to the LCPP in 2024. Lumen Technologies did not make a voluntary contribution to the LCPP in 2023. The unfunded status of Lumen's qualified and non-qualified pension plans for accounting purposes was approximately $645 million and $769 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, which includes the merged QCII qualified pension plan. The unfunded status of Lumen's post-retirement benefit plans for accounting purposes was $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Lumen Technologies allocates current service costs to subsidiaries relative to employees who are currently earning benefits under the pension and post-retirement benefit plans. The net cost allocated to us is paid on a monthly basis through Lumen's intercompany cash management process. The affiliate obligations, net in current and noncurrent liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets primarily represents the cumulative allocation of expense, net of payments, associated with QCII's pension plans and post-retirement benefits plans prior to the plan mergers. In 2015, we agreed to a plan to settle the outstanding pension and post-retirement affiliate obligations, net balance with QCII over a 30 year term. Under the plan, payments are scheduled to be made on a monthly basis. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, we made settlement payments in the aggregate of $52 million and $57 million, respectively, to QCII under the plan. Changes in the affiliate obligations, net are reflected in operating activities on our consolidated statements of cash flows. We are allocated a portion of Lumen's pension and post-retirement services costs. The combined net pension and post-retirement service costs is included in cost of services and products and selling, general and administrative expenses on our consolidated statement of operations, in the amounts for the respective periods presented in the table below:
| Years Ended December 31,
| 2024 |  | 2023 |  | 2022
| (Dollars in millions)
Allocated pension service costs | $ | 20 |  |  | 22 |  |  | 31 |
Allocated post-retirement service costs | 4 |  |  | 4 |  |  | 7 |
% of Lumen's total pension and post-retirement service costs | 86 | % |  | 87 | % |  | 72 | %
Lumen Technologies sponsors a noncontributory qualified defined benefit pension plan that covers certain participants. The LCPP also provides survivor and disability benefits to certain participants. In November 2009, and prior to the plan merger, the pension plan was amended to no longer provide pension benefit accruals for active non-represented employees after December 31, 2009. In addition, non-represented employees hired after January 1, 2009 are not eligible to participate in the plans. Active non-represented employees who participate in these plans retain their accrued pension benefit earned as of December 31, 2009 and certain participants will continue to earn interest credits on their benefit after December 31, 2009. Employees are eligible to receive their vested accrued benefit when they separate from Lumen Technologies. The plans also provided a death benefit for eligible beneficiaries of certain retirees; however, the plan was amended to eliminate this benefit effective March 1, 2010 for retirees who retired prior to January 1, 2004 and whose deaths occur after February 28, 2010 and eliminate the death benefit for eligible beneficiaries of certain retirees who retired after December 31, 2003. Lumen Technologies maintains post-retirement benefit plans that provide health care and life insurance benefits primarily for certain eligible retirees. The QCII post-retirement benefit plans were merged into Lumen's post-retirement benefit plans on January 1, 2012. The benefit obligation for the occupational health care and life insurance post-retirement plans is estimated based on the terms of benefit plans. In calculating this obligation, Lumen Technologies considers numerous assumptions, estimates and judgments, including but not limited to, discount rates, health care cost trend rates and plan amendments. Effective January 1, 2024, new represented employees are not eligible for benefits as a result of new collective bargaining agreements. New non-represented employees are also not eligible for benefits under the plan. The terms of the post-retirement health care and life insurance plans between Lumen Technologies and its eligible non-represented employees and its eligible post-1990 non-represented retirees are established by Lumen Technologies and are subject to change at its discretion. Lumen Technologies has a practice of sharing some of the cost of providing health care benefits with its non-represented employees and post-1990 non-represented retirees. The benefit obligation for the non-represented post-retirement health care benefits is based on the terms of the current written plan documents and is adjusted for anticipated continued cost sharing with non-represented employees and post-1990 non-represented retirees. However, Lumen's contribution under its post-1990 non-represented retirees' health care plan is capped at a specific dollar amount. Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 Lumen Technologies sponsors post-retirement health care plans with several benefit options that provide prescription drug benefits that Lumen Technologies deems actuarially equivalent to or exceeding Medicare Part D. Lumen Technologies recognizes the impact of the federal subsidy received under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 in the calculation of its post-retirement benefit obligation and net periodic post-retirement benefit expense. Other Benefit Plans Health Care and Life Insurance We provide health care and life insurance benefits to essentially all of our active employees. We are largely self-funded for the cost of the health care plan. Our health care benefit expense for current employees was $99 million, $101 million and $99 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Employees' group basic life insurance plans are fully insured and the premiums are paid by Lumen Technologies. 401(k) Plans Lumen Technologies sponsors a qualified defined contribution plan covering substantially all of our employees. Under this plan, employees may contribute a percentage of their annual compensation up to certain maximums, as defined by the plan and by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"). Currently, we match a percentage of our employees' contributions in cash. We recognized $25 million, $27 million and $27 million in expense related to this plan for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

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