Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

The changes in benefit obligation, the changes in fair value of plan assets, and the funded status of our pension plans and other postretirement benefit plans

The changes in benefit obligation related to all of our defined benefit plans, the changes in fair value of plan assets(a), and the funded status of our defined benefit plans as of and for the years ended below were as follows (in millions):

	Pension Plans				Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
	December 31,				December 31,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Changes in benefit obligation
Benefit obligation as of beginning of year	$	3,239	$	2,639	$	336	$	292
Service cost	140		119		6		5
Interest cost	85		98		9		11
Participant contributions	—		—		12		11
Benefits paid	(195)		(154)		(28)		(29)
Actuarial loss	339		528		23		41
Other	17		9		—		5
Benefit obligation as of end of year	$	3,625	$	3,239	$	358	$	336
Changes in plan assets (a)
Fair value of plan assets as of beginning of year	$	2,709	$	2,236	$	—	$	—
Actual return on plan assets	413		490		—		—
Valero contributions	129		128		16		18
Participant contributions	—		—		12		11
Benefits paid	(195)		(154)		(28)		(29)
Other	11		9		—		—
Fair value of plan assets as of end of year	$	3,067	$	2,709	$	—	$	—
Reconciliation of funded status (a)
Fair value of plan assets as of end of year	$	3,067	$	2,709	$	—	$	—
Less: Benefit obligation as of end of year	3,625		3,239		358		336
Funded status as of end of year	$	(558)	$	(530)	$	(358)	$	(336)
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	3,398	$	3,039	n/a		n/a

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(a)Plan assets include only the assets associated with pension plans subject to legal minimum funding standards. Plan assets associated with U.S. nonqualified pension plans are not included here because they are not protected from our creditors and therefore cannot be reflected as a reduction from our obligations under the pension plans. As a result, the reconciliation of funded status does not reflect the effect of plan assets that exist for all of our defined benefit plans. See Note 20 for the assets associated with certain U.S. nonqualified pension plans.

Schedule of amounts recognized in balance sheet

Amounts recognized in our balance sheet for our pension and other postretirement benefits plans include (in millions):

	Pension Plans				Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
	December 31,				December 31,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Deferred charges and other assets, net	$	7	$	5	$	—	$	—
Accrued expenses	(24)		(17)		(21)		(20)
Other long-term liabilities	(541)		(518)		(337)		(316)
	$	(558)	$	(530)	$	(358)	$	(336)

Projected benefit obligations in excess of fair value of plan assets

The following table presents information for our pension plans with projected benefit obligations in excess of plan assets (in millions):

	December 31,
	2020		2019
Projected benefit obligation	$	3,561	$	3,182
Fair value of plan assets	2,997		2,647

Accumulated benefit obligations in excess of fair value of plan assets

The following table presents information for our pension plans with accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets (in millions):

	December 31,
	2020		2019
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	3,336	$	2,760
Fair value of plan assets	2,997		2,402

Expected benefit payments

Benefit payments that we expect to pay, including amounts related to expected future services that we expect to receive, are as follows for the years ending December 31 (in millions):

	Pension Benefits		Other Postretirement Benefits
2021	$	195	$	21
2022	227		21
2023	199		21
2024	202		20
2025	215		20
2026-2030	1,107		90

Components of net periodic benefit costs

The components of net periodic benefit cost related to our defined benefit plans were as follows (in millions):

	Pension Plans						Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
	Year Ended December 31,						Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018		2020		2019		2018
Service cost	$	140	$	119	$	133	$	6	$	5	$	6
Interest cost	85		98		91		9		11		10
Expected return on plan assets	(179)		(166)		(163)		—		—		—
Amortization of:
Net actuarial (gain) loss	74		41		65		—		(3)		(2)
Prior service credit	(19)		(19)		(18)		(7)		(9)		(11)
Special charges	5		4		7		—		1		—
Net periodic benefit cost	$	106	$	77	$	115	$	8	$	5	$	3

Pre-tax amounts recognized in other comprehensive income (loss)

Pre-tax amounts recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) were as follows (in millions):

	Pension Plans						Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
	Year Ended December 31,						Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018		2020		2019		2018
Net gain (loss) arising during the year:
Net actuarial gain (loss)	$	(105)	$	(204)	$	(8)	$	(23)	$	(41)	$	9
Prior service (cost) credit	(5)		—		7		—		(3)		—
Net (gain) loss reclassified into income:
Net actuarial (gain) loss	74		41		65		—		(3)		(2)
Prior service credit	(19)		(19)		(18)		(7)		(9)		(11)
Curtailment and settlement loss	5		4		7		—		—		—
Total changes in other comprehensive income (loss)	$	(50)	$	(178)	$	53	$	(30)	$	(56)	$	(4)

Pre-tax amounts in accumulated other comprehensive loss not yet recognized

The pre-tax amounts in accumulated other comprehensive loss that have not yet been recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost were as follows (in millions):

	Pension Plans				Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
	December 31,				December 31,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Net actuarial (gain) loss	$	1,014	$	988	$	4	$	(20)
Prior service credit	(66)		(90)		(13)		(19)
Total	$	948	$	898	$	(9)	$	(39)

Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations and net periodic benefit cost

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations were as follows:

	Pension Plans				Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
	December 31,				December 31,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Discount rate	2.62	%	3.14	%	2.64	%	3.32	%
Rate of compensation increase	3.66	%	3.75	%	n/a		n/a
Interest crediting rate for cash balance plans	3.03	%	3.03	%	n/a		n/a

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine the net periodic benefit cost were as follows:

	Pension Plans						Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
	Year Ended December 31,						Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018		2020		2019		2018
Discount rate	3.14	%	4.24	%	3.59	%	3.32	%	4.40	%	3.72	%
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets	7.20	%	7.22	%	7.24	%	n/a		n/a		n/a
Rate of compensation increase	3.75	%	3.78	%	3.86	%	n/a		n/a		n/a
Interest crediting rate for cash balance plans	3.03	%	3.04	%	3.04	%	n/a		n/a		n/a

Assumed health care cost trend rates

The assumed health care cost trend rates were as follows:

	December 31,
	2020		2019
Health care cost trend rate assumed for the next year	6.83	%	7.32	%
Rate to which the cost trend rate was assumed to decline (the ultimate trend rate)	5.00	%	5.00	%
Year that the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate	2026		2026

Fair value of pension plan assets by level of fair value hierarchy

The following tables present the fair values of the assets of our pension plans (in millions) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 by level of the fair value hierarchy. Assets categorized in Level 1 of the hierarchy are measured at fair value using a market approach based on unadjusted quoted prices from national securities exchanges. Assets categorized in Level 2 of the hierarchy are measured at net asset value in a market that is not active or inputs other than quoted prices that are observable. As previously noted, we do not fund or fully fund U.S. nonqualified and certain international pension plans that are not subject to funding requirements, and we do not fund our other postretirement benefit plans.

	Fair Value Hierarchy						Total as of December 31, 2020
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Equity securities (a)	$	682	$	—	$	—	$	682
Mutual funds	244		—		—		244
Corporate debt instruments (a)	—		297		—		297
Government securities	85		142		—		227
Common collective trusts (b)	—		1,066		—		1,066
Pooled separate accounts (c)	—		316		—		316
Private funds	—		128		—		128
Insurance contract	—		15		—		15
Interest and dividends receivable	5		—		—		5
Cash and cash equivalents	98		—		—		98
Securities transactions payable, net	(11)		—		—		(11)
Total pension plan assets	$	1,103	$	1,964	$	—	$	3,067

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See notes on page 110.

	Fair Value Hierarchy						Total as of December 31, 2019
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Equity securities (a)	$	831	$	1	$	—	$	832
Mutual funds	213		—		—		213
Corporate debt instruments (a)	—		293		—		293
Government securities	53		148		—		201
Common collective trusts (b)	—		751		—		751
Pooled separate accounts (c)	—		250		—		250
Private funds	—		104		—		104
Insurance contract	—		17		—		17
Interest and dividends receivable	5		—		—		5
Cash and cash equivalents	59		—		—		59
Securities transactions payable, net	(16)		—		—		(16)
Total pension plan assets	$	1,145	$	1,564	$	—	$	2,709

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(a)This class of securities includes domestic and international stocks, which are held in a wide range of industry sectors.

(b)This class primarily includes investments in approximately 80 percent equities and 20 percent bonds as of December 31, 2020. As of December 31, 2019, this class included primarily investments in approximately 75 percent equities and 25 percent bonds.

(c)This class primarily includes investments in approximately 60 percent equities and 40 percent bonds as of December 31, 2020 and 2019. These pension assets are held by our international pension plans.