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Pension and Other Postretirement Plans (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Reconciliation of the Change in Benefit Obligation and Plan Assets and Funded Status
The following tables set forth the reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the benefit obligation and plan assets, the funded status and the amounts recognized in these financial statements for the defined benefit and other postretirement plans (in millions):
Pension Benefits
Year Ended December 31, 2022Year Ended December 31, 2021
Accumulated benefit obligation:$3,596 $5,496 
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year$6,473 $6,525 
Service cost204 239 
Interest cost188 184 
Actuarial gain(2,186)(188)
Benefits paid(464)(263)
Curtailment— (12)
Other(34)(12)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year$4,181 $6,473 
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year$4,626 $4,069 
Actual income (loss) on plan assets(678)437 
Employer contributions8 387 
Benefits paid(464)(263)
Other(25)(4)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year$3,467 $4,626 
Funded status—Net amount recognized$(714)$(1,847)
Pension Benefits
December 31, 2022December 31, 2021
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets consist of:
Noncurrent asset$44 $75 
Current liability(11)(2)
Noncurrent liability(747)(1,920)
Total liability$(714)$(1,847)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income ( loss) consist of:
Net actuarial loss$(77)$(1,406)
Prior service cost(1)(1)
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss$(78)$(1,407)
Other Postretirement Benefits
Year Ended December 31, 2022Year Ended December 31, 2021
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year$1,129 $1,082 
Service cost9 10 
Interest cost30 25 
Plan participants' contributions69 66 
Benefits paid(179)(199)
Actuarial (gain) loss(270)114 
Special termination benefit— 31 
Benefit obligation at end of year$788 $1,129 
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year$49 $51 
Actual return on plan assets1 1 
Employer contributions108 130
Plan participants' contributions69 66 
Benefits paid(179)(199)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year48 49 
Funded status—Net amount recognized$(740)$(1,080)
Amounts Recognized in Consolidated Balance Sheet and Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Other Postretirement Benefits
December 31, 2022December 31, 2021
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets consist of:
Current liability$(69)$(80)
Noncurrent liability(671)(1,000)
Total liability$(740)$(1,080)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) consist of:
Net actuarial gain$369 $113 
Prior service credit335 447 
Total accumulated other comprehensive income$704 $560 
Accumulated Benefit Obligation and Projected Benefit Obligation in Excess of Plan Assets
The following information relates to all pension plans with an accumulated benefit obligation and a projected benefit obligation in excess of plan assets at December 31 (in millions):
20222021
Projected benefit obligation$4,045 $6,231 
Accumulated benefit obligation3,461 5,255 
Fair value of plan assets3,287 4,309 
Components Of Net Periodic Benefit Cost
Net periodic benefit cost (credit) for the years ended December 31 included the following components (in millions):
202220212020
Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement BenefitsPension BenefitsOther Postretirement BenefitsPension BenefitsOther Postretirement Benefits
Service cost$204 $9 $239 $10 $216 $10 
Interest cost188 30 184 25 209 28 
Expected return on plan assets(306)(1)(283)(1)(328)(1)
Amortization of unrecognized actuarial (gain) loss120 (14)170 (28)162 (40)
Amortization of prior service credits— (112)— (123)— (124)
Settlement loss - Voluntary Programs— — — — 430 — 
Special termination benefits - Voluntary Programs— — — 31 54 201 
Curtailment— — (8)— 1 — 
Other5 — 5 — 22 — 
Net periodic benefit cost (credit)$211 $(88)$307 $(86)$766 $74 
The Company's expected Net periodic benefit cost (credit) for 2023 is as follows (in millions):
Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement Benefits
Net periodic benefit cost (credit)$97 $(105)
Assumptions Used for Benefit Plans
The assumptions used for the benefit plans were as follows: 
Pension Benefits
Assumptions used to determine benefit obligations20222021
Discount rate5.20 %2.90 %
Rate of compensation increase3.83 %3.83 %
Assumptions used to determine net expense
Discount rate2.90 %2.72 %
Expected return on plan assets7.16 %7.28 %
Rate of compensation increase3.83 %3.88 %
Other Postretirement Benefits
Assumptions used to determine benefit obligations20222021
Discount rate5.66 %2.82 %
Assumptions used to determine net expense
Discount rate2.82 %2.43 %
Expected return on plan assets3.00 %3.00 %
Health care cost trend rate assumed for next year5.60 %5.70 %
Rate to which the cost trend rate is assumed to decline (ultimate trend rate in 2033)4.50 %4.50 %
Allocation of Plan Assets Plan fiduciaries regularly review our actual asset allocation and the pension plans' investments are periodically rebalanced to our targeted allocation when considered appropriate. United's plan assets are allocated within the following guidelines:
  Percent of TotalExpected Long-Term
Rate of Return
Equity securities
25-40
%9 %
Fixed-income securities
 40-55
 7  
Alternatives
15-25
 8  
Schedule of Change in Assumptions on Net Periodic Benefit Cost and Benefit Obligations
The table below shows the impacts of a change in certain assumptions on the 2023 net periodic benefit cost and the benefit obligations at December 31, 2022 (in millions):
Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement Benefits
Impact on Benefit Obligation at December 31, 2022
100 basis points decrease in the weighted average discount rate
$813 $50 
Impact on 2023 Net Periodic Benefit Cost
100 basis points decrease in the weighted average discount rate (a)
$93 $1 
100 basis points decrease in the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets
33 — 
(a) In general, as discount rates increase, the impact of changes in discount rates decreases. Therefore, these sensitivities cannot be extrapolated for larger increases or decreases in the discount rate. In addition, benefit cost is affected by other factors including, but not limited to, investment performance, contributions, demographic experience and other assumption changes.
Pension and Other Postretirement Plan Assets
The following tables present information about United's pension and other postretirement plan assets at December 31 (in millions):
20222021
Pension Plan Assets:TotalLevel 1Level 2Level 3Assets Measured at NAV(a)TotalLevel 1Level 2Level 3Assets Measured at NAV(a)
Equity securities funds$1,183 $58 $26 $114 $985 $1,754 $71 $44 $147 $1,492 
Fixed-income securities1,316 — 527 5 784 1,850 — 739 15 1,096 
Alternatives887 — — 161 726 847 — — 216 631 
Other investments81 6 16 5 54 175 108 59 8 — 
Total$3,467 $64 $569 $285 $2,549 $4,626 $179 $842 $386 $3,219 
Other Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets:
Deposit administration fund$48 $— $— $48 $— $49 $— $— $49 $— 
(a) In accordance with the relevant accounting standards, certain investments that 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. These investments are commingled funds that invest in equity securities and fixed-income instruments including bonds, debt securities, and other similar instruments issued by various U.S. and non-U.S. public- or private-sector entities. Redemption periods for these investments range from daily to semiannually.
Defined Benefit Plan Assets Measured at Fair Value Using Unobservable Inputs
The following table presents reconciliation of United's benefit plan assets measured at fair value using unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 (in millions):
20222021
Balance at beginning of year$435 $401 
Actual income (loss) on plan assets:
Sold during the year34 2 
Held at year end(39)48 
Purchases, sales, issuances and settlements (net)(97)(16)
Balance at end of year$333 $435 
Estimated Future Benefit Payments
The estimated future benefit payments, net of expected participant contributions, in United's pension plans and other postretirement benefit plans for the next ten years, as of December 31, 2022, are as follows (in millions):
PensionOther Postretirement
2023$255 $120 
2024253 109 
2025282 94 
2026304 86 
2027323 78 
Years 2028 – 20321,776 293 
Participation in the IAM National Pension Plan United's participation in the IAM National Pension Plan ("IAM Plan") for the annual period ended December 31, 2022 is outlined in the table below. The risks of participating in these multi-employer plans are different from single-employer plans, as United may be subject to additional risks that others do not meet their obligations, which in certain circumstances could revert to United. The IAM Plan reported $507 million in employers' contributions for the year ended December 31, 2021. For 2021, the Company's contributions to the IAM Plan represented more than 5% of total contributions to the IAM Plan. The 2022 information is not available as the applicable Form 5500 is not final for the plan year.
Pension FundIAM National Pension Fund ("Fund")
EIN/ Pension Plan Number51-6031295 — 002
Pension Protection Act Zone Status (2022 and 2021)
Critical (2022 and 2021). A plan is in "critical" status if the funded percentage is less than 65 percent. On April 17, 2019, the IAM National Pension Fund Board of Trustees voluntarily elected for the Fund to be in critical status effective for the plan year beginning January 1, 2019 to strengthen the Fund's financial health. The Fund's funded percentage was 83.7% as of January 1, 2021.
FIP/RP Status Pending/Implemented
A 10-year Rehabilitation Plan effective, January 1, 2022, was adopted on April 17, 2019 that requires the Company to make an additional contribution of 2.5% of the hourly contribution rate, compounded annually for the length of the Rehabilitation Plan, effective June 1, 2019.
United's Contributions
$75 million, $58 million and $53 million in the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively
Surcharge ImposedNo
Expiration Date of Collective Bargaining AgreementN/A