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Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
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)2021202020212020
Benefit obligation at beginning of period$22,626 $21,199 $4,766 $3,379 
Service cost— — 86 96 
Interest cost582 700 117 120 
Actuarial (gain)/loss(851)2,051 23 247 
Benefits paid, including lump sums and annuities(1,279)(1,233)(405)(356)
Participant contributions— — 18 20 
Special termination benefits— — — 1,260 
Settlements(5)(91)— — 
Benefit obligation at end of period(1)
$21,073 $22,626 $4,605 $4,766 
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period$16,541 $15,845 $496 $607 
Actual gain on plan assets2,732 1,973 57 76 
Employer contributions1,513 47 192 189 
Participant contributions— — 18 20 
Benefits paid, including lump sums and annuities(1,279)(1,233)(406)(396)
Settlements(5)(91)— — 
Fair value of plan assets at end of period$19,502 $16,541 $357 $496 
Funded status at end of period$(1,571)$(6,085)$(4,248)$(4,270)

(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)2021202020212020
Current liabilities$(9)$(10)$(203)$(143)
Noncurrent liabilities(1,562)(6,075)(4,045)(4,127)
Total liabilities$(1,571)$(6,085)$(4,248)$(4,270)
Net actuarial loss$(7,462)$(9,878)$(831)$(886)
Prior service credit— — 23 29 
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss, pre-tax$(7,462)$(9,878)$(808)$(857)
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)202120202019202120202019
Service cost$— $— $— $86 $96 $83 
Interest cost582 700 833 117 120 137 
Expected return on plan assets(1,522)(1,373)(1,186)(34)(44)(47)
Amortization of prior service credit— — — (6)(9)(9)
Recognized net actuarial loss354 300 291 55 44 37 
Settlements2 38 5 — — — 
Special termination benefits— — — — 1,260 — 
Net periodic (benefit) cost
$(584)$(335)$(57)$218 $1,467 $201 
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)
20212020
Weighted average discount rate2.97 %2.62 %

Year Ended December 31,
Net Periodic (Benefit) Cost(1)
202120202019
Weighted average discount rate - pension benefit2.65 %3.40 %4.33 %
Weighted average discount rate - other postretirement benefit2.43 %3.47 %4.32 %
Weighted average discount rate - other postemployment benefit2.55 %3.34 %4.32 %
Weighted average expected long-term rate of return on plan assets8.98 %8.97 %8.97 %
Assumed healthcare cost trend rate for the next year(2)
6.25 %6.25 %6.50 %
(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 2028 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
2022$1,290 $420 
20231,280 460 
20241,270 460 
20251,270 460 
20261,260 460 
2027-20316,110 2,160 
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, 2021December 31, 2020Valuation Technique
(in millions)Level 1Level 2TotalLevel 1Level 2Total
Cash equivalents$2,390 $2,097 $4,487 $305 $3,359 $3,664 (a)
Equities and equity-related instruments1,034 161 1,195 1,061 59 1,120 (a)
Fixed income and fixed income-related instruments69 979 1,048 — 882 882 (a)(b)
Delta common stock407 — 407 507 — 507 (a)
Real assets— 256 256 — — — (a)
Benefit plan assets$3,900 $3,493 $7,393 $1,873 $4,300 $6,173 
Investments measured at net asset value ("NAV")(1)
12,653 10,427 
Total benefit plan assets$20,046 $16,600 
(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, 2021December 31, 2020
(in millions)Fair ValueRedemption FrequencyRedemption Notice PeriodFair ValueRedemption FrequencyRedemption Notice Period
Hedge funds and hedge fund-related strategies(4)
$7,563 (3)
2-180 Days
$5,474 (3)
2-180 Days
Commingled funds, private equity and private equity-related instruments(4)
2,228 (3)
3-45 Days
2,136 (3)
3-30 Days
Fixed income and fixed income-related instruments(4)
877 (3)
65-90 Days
1,118 (3)
15-90 Days
Real assets(4)
773 (2)N/A671 (2)N/A
Other1,212 (1)
2-10 Days
1,028 (1)
2-90 Days
Total investments measured at NAV$12,653 $10,427 
(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 $1.0 billion for commingled funds, private equity and private equity-related instruments, $259 million for fixed income and fixed income-related instruments and $386 million for real assets at December 31, 2021.