XML 54 R35.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.19.3.a.u2
Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Defined Benefit Plan [Abstract]  
Schedule of benefit obligations, fair value of plan assets, and funded status
Benefit Obligations, Fair Value of Plan Assets and Funded Status
Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement and Postemployment Benefits
December 31,December 31,
(in millions)2019201820192018
Benefit obligation at beginning of period$19,809  $21,696  $3,225  $3,504  
Service cost—  —  83  85  
Interest cost833  781  137  126  
Actuarial loss (gain)1,678  (1,560) 226  (142) 
Benefits paid, including lump sums and annuities(1,107) (1,093) (315) (306) 
Participant contributions—  —  23  26  
Curtailment—  —  —  (68) 
Settlements(14) (15) —  —  
Benefit obligation at end of period(1)
$21,199  $19,809  $3,379  $3,225  
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period$13,459  $14,744  $637  $866  
Actual gain (loss) on plan assets2,485  (700) 134  (72) 
Employer contributions1,022  523  159  152  
Participant contributions—  —  23  26  
Benefits paid, including lump sums and annuities(1,107) (1,093) (346) (335) 
Settlements(14) (15) —  —  
Fair value of plan assets at end of period$15,845  $13,459  $607  $637  
Funded status at end of period$(5,354) $(6,350) $(2,772) $(2,588) 

(1)At the end of each year presented, our accumulated benefit obligations for our pension plans are equal to the benefit obligations shown above.
Schedule of amounts recognized on balance sheet
Balance Sheet Position
Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement and Postemployment Benefits
December 31,December 31,
(in millions)2019201820192018
Current liabilities$(19) $(27) $(125) $(123) 
Noncurrent liabilities(5,335) (6,323) (2,647) (2,465) 
Total liabilities$(5,354) $(6,350) $(2,772) $(2,588) 
Net actuarial loss$(8,765) $(8,682) $(715) $(613) 
Prior service credit—  —  38  47  
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss, pre-tax$(8,765) $(8,682) $(677) $(566) 
Schedule of net periodic (benefit) costs
Net Periodic (Benefit) Cost
Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement and Postemployment Benefits
Year Ended December 31,Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)201920182017201920182017
Service cost$—  $—  $—  $83  $85  $87  
Interest cost833  781  853  137  126  138  
Expected return on plan assets(1,186) (1,318) (1,143) (47) (67) (69) 
Amortization of prior service credit—  —  —  (9) (24) (26) 
Recognized net actuarial loss291  267  262  37  36  32  
Settlements5  4  3  —  —  —  
Curtailment—  —  —  —  (53) —  
Net periodic (benefit) cost
$(57) $(266) $(25) $201  $103  $162  
Schedule of assumptions used to determine benefit obligations and net periodic costs
We used the following actuarial assumptions to determine our benefit obligations and our net periodic benefit cost for the periods presented:
December 31,
Benefit Obligations(1)
20192018
Weighted average discount rate3.40 %4.33 %

Year Ended December 31,
Net Periodic Benefit Cost(1)
201920182017
Weighted average discount rate - pension benefit4.33 %3.69 %4.14 %
Weighted average discount rate - other postretirement benefit4.32 %3.69 %4.19 %
Weighted average discount rate - other postemployment benefit4.32 %3.65 %4.14 %
Weighted average expected long-term rate of return on plan assets8.97 %8.97 %8.96 %
Assumed healthcare cost trend rate for the next year(2)
6.50 %6.75 %7.00 %
(1)Future employee compensation levels do not impact our frozen defined benefit pension plans or other postretirement plans and impact only a small portion of our other postemployment obligation.
(2)Healthcare cost trend rate is assumed to decline gradually to 5.00% by 2026 and remain unchanged thereafter.
Schedule of effect of one-percentage-point change in assumed healthcare cost trend rates A 1% change in the healthcare cost trend rate used in measuring the plan benefit obligation for these plans would have the following effects:
(in millions)1% Increase1% (Decrease)
Increase (decrease) in total service and interest cost$1  $(2) 
Increase (decrease) in the accumulated plan benefit obligation4  (14) 
Schedule of expected benefit payments
The following table summarizes the benefit payments that are scheduled to be paid in the years ending December 31:
(in millions)Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement and Postemployment Benefits
2020$1,170  $324  
20211,188  327  
20221,211  324  
20231,226  321  
20241,239  317  
2025-20296,248  1,520  
Schedule of benefit plan assets measured at fair value on recurring basis The following table shows our benefit plan assets by asset class.
December 31, 2019December 31, 2018Valuation Technique
(in millions)Level 1Level 2TotalLevel 1Level 2Total
Equities and equity-related instruments$840  $49  $889  $400  $100  $500  (a)
Delta common stock737  —  737  675  —  675  (a)
Cash equivalents327  952  1,279  312  708  1,020  (a)
Fixed income and fixed income-related instruments97  3,472  3,569  233  2,157  2,390  (a)(b)
Benefit plan assets$2,001  $4,473  $6,474  $1,620  $2,965  $4,585  
Investments measured at net asset value ("NAV")(1)
9,854  9,136  
Total benefit plan assets$16,328  $13,721  
(1) Investments that were measured at NAV per share (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy.
Schedule of investments measured at fair value based on NAV per share as a practical expedient
The following table summarizes investments measured at fair value based on NAV per share as a practical expedient:
December 31, 2019December 31, 2018
(in millions)Fair ValueRedemption FrequencyRedemption Notice PeriodFair ValueRedemption FrequencyRedemption Notice Period
Hedge funds and hedge fund-related strategies(5)
$5,588  (4)
2-180 Days
$5,264  (4)
2-180 Days
Commingled funds, private equity and private equity-related instruments(5)
1,834  (4)
2-30 Days
1,591  (4)
2-30 Days
Fixed income and fixed income-related instruments(5)
958  (4)
15-90 Days
769  (2)
15-90 Days
Real assets(5)
758  (3)N/A  807  (3)N/A  
Other716  (1) (2)
2-90 Days
705  (1) (2)
2-90 Days
Total investments measured at NAV$9,854  $9,136  
(1)Monthly
(2)Semi-monthly
(3)Semi-annually and annually
(4)Various. Includes funds with weekly, monthly, semi-monthly, quarterly and custom redemption frequencies as well as funds with a redemption window following the anniversary of the initial investment.
(5)Unfunded commitments were $393 million for commingled funds, private equity and private equity-related instruments, $254 million for fixed income and fixed income-related instruments, $203 million for real assets and $76 million for hedge funds and hedge fund-related strategies at December 31, 2019.