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Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Retirement Benefits [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)2020201920202019
Benefit obligation at beginning of period$21,199 $19,809 $3,379 $3,225 
Service cost— — 96 83 
Interest cost700 833 120 137 
Actuarial loss2,051 1,678 247 226 
Benefits paid, including lump sums and annuities(1,233)(1,107)(356)(315)
Participant contributions— — 20 23 
Special termination benefits— — 1,260 — 
Settlements(91)(14)— — 
Benefit obligation at end of period(1)
$22,626 $21,199 $4,766 $3,379 
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period$15,845 $13,459 $607 $637 
Actual gain on plan assets1,973 2,485 76 134 
Employer contributions47 1,022 189 159 
Participant contributions— — 20 23 
Benefits paid, including lump sums and annuities(1,233)(1,107)(396)(346)
Settlements(91)(14)— — 
Fair value of plan assets at end of period$16,541 $15,845 $496 $607 
Funded status at end of period$(6,085)$(5,354)$(4,270)$(2,772)

(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 balance sheet position
Balance Sheet Position
Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement and Postemployment Benefits
December 31,December 31,
(in millions)2020201920202019
Current liabilities$(10)$(19)$(143)$(125)
Noncurrent liabilities(6,075)(5,335)(4,127)(2,647)
Total liabilities$(6,085)$(5,354)$(4,270)$(2,772)
Net actuarial loss$(9,878)$(8,765)$(886)$(715)
Prior service credit— — 29 38 
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss, pre-tax$(9,878)$(8,765)$(857)$(677)
Schedule of net periodic (benefit) cost
Net Periodic (Benefit) Cost
Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement and Postemployment Benefits
Year Ended December 31,Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)202020192018202020192018
Service cost$— $— $— $96 $83 $85 
Interest cost700 833 781 120 137 126 
Expected return on plan assets(1,373)(1,186)(1,318)(44)(47)(67)
Amortization of prior service credit— — — (9)(9)(24)
Recognized net actuarial loss300 291 267 44 37 36 
Settlements38 5 4 — — — 
Special termination benefits— — — 1,260 — — 
Curtailment— — — — — (53)
Net periodic (benefit) cost
$(335)$(57)$(266)$1,467 $201 $103 
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)
20202019
Weighted average discount rate2.62 %3.40 %

Year Ended December 31,
Net Periodic (Benefit) Cost(1)
202020192018
Weighted average discount rate - pension benefit3.40 %4.33 %3.69 %
Weighted average discount rate - other postretirement benefit3.47 %4.32 %3.69 %
Weighted average discount rate - other postemployment benefit3.34 %4.32 %3.65 %
Weighted average expected long-term rate of return on plan assets8.97 %8.97 %8.97 %
Assumed healthcare cost trend rate for the next year(2)
6.25 %6.50 %6.75 %
(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 expected future benefit payments
The following table summarizes the benefit payments that are expected to be paid in the years ending December 31:

Expected future benefit payments
(in millions)Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement and Postemployment Benefits
2021$1,280 $340 
20221,270 370 
20231,270 410 
20241,270 430 
20251,270 430 
2026-20306,210 2,110 
Schedule of benefit plan assets measured at fair value on recurring basis The following table shows our benefit plan assets by asset class.
Benefit plan assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis
December 31, 2020December 31, 2019Valuation Technique
(in millions)Level 1Level 2TotalLevel 1Level 2Total
Equities and equity-related instruments$1,061 $59 $1,120 $840 $49 $889 (a)
Delta common stock507 — 507 737 — 737 (a)
Cash equivalents305 3,359 3,664 327 952 1,279 (a)
Fixed income and fixed income-related instruments— 882 882 97 3,472 3,569 (a)(b)
Benefit plan assets$1,873 $4,300 $6,173 $2,001 $4,473 $6,474 
Investments measured at net asset value ("NAV")(1)
10,427 9,854 
Total benefit plan assets$16,600 $16,328 
(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 benefit plan investments assets measured at NAV
The following table summarizes investments measured at fair value based on NAV per share as a practical expedient:

Benefit plan investment assets measured at NAV
December 31, 2020December 31, 2019
(in millions)Fair ValueRedemption FrequencyRedemption Notice PeriodFair ValueRedemption FrequencyRedemption Notice Period
Hedge funds and hedge fund-related strategies(4)
$5,474 (3)
2-180 Days
$5,588 (3)
2-180 Days
Commingled funds, private equity and private equity-related instruments(4)
2,136 (3)
3-30 Days
1,834 (3)
2-30 Days
Fixed income and fixed income-related instruments(4)
1,118 (3)
15-90 Days
958 (3)
15-90 Days
Real assets(4)
671 (2)N/A758 (2)N/A
Other1,028 (1)
2-90 Days
716 (1)
2-90 Days
Total investments measured at NAV$10,427 $9,854 
(1)Weekly, semi-monthly, monthly
(2)Semi-annually and annually
(3)Various. Includes funds with weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, quarterly and custom redemption frequencies as well as funds with a redemption window following the anniversary of the initial investment.
(4)Unfunded commitments were $916 million for commingled funds, private equity and private equity-related instruments, $264 million for fixed income and fixed income-related instruments and $181 million for real assets at December 31, 2020.