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Pension, Postretirement And Other Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
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, 2023Year Ended December 31, 2022
Accumulated benefit obligation:$3,910 $3,596 
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year$4,181 $6,473 
Service cost124 204 
Interest cost217 188 
Actuarial (gain) loss204 (2,186)
Benefits paid(177)(464)
Other1 (34)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year$4,550 $4,181 
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year$3,467 $4,626 
Actual income (loss) on plan assets281 (678)
Employer contributions22 8 
Benefits paid(177)(464)
Other6 (25)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year$3,599 $3,467 
Funded status—Net amount recognized$(951)$(714)
Pension Benefits
December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets consist of:
Noncurrent asset$21 $44 
Current liability(4)(11)
Noncurrent liability(968)(747)
Total liability$(951)$(714)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) consist of:
Net actuarial loss$(242)$(77)
Prior service cost— (1)
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss$(242)$(78)
Other Postretirement Benefits
Year Ended December 31, 2023Year Ended December 31, 2022
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year$788 $1,129 
Service cost4 9 
Interest cost42 30 
Plan participants' contributions67 69 
Benefits paid(177)(179)
Actuarial (gain) loss22 (270)
Benefit obligation at end of year$746 $788 
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year$48 $49 
Actual return on plan assets1 1 
Employer contributions107 108
Plan participants' contributions67 69 
Benefits paid(177)(179)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year46 48 
Funded status—Net amount recognized$(700)$(740)
Amounts Recognized in Consolidated Balance Sheet and Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Other Postretirement Benefits
December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets consist of:
Current liability$(63)$(69)
Noncurrent liability(637)(671)
Total liability$(700)$(740)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) consist of:
Net actuarial gain$309 $369 
Prior service credit222 335 
Total accumulated other comprehensive income$531 $704 
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):
20232022
Projected benefit obligation$4,407 $4,045 
Accumulated benefit obligation3,767 3,461 
Fair value of plan assets3,435 3,287 
Components Of Net Periodic Benefit Cost
Net periodic benefit cost (credit) for the years ended December 31 included the following components (in millions):
202320222021
Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement BenefitsPension BenefitsOther Postretirement BenefitsPension BenefitsOther Postretirement Benefits
Service cost$124 $4 $204 $9 $239 $10 
Interest cost217 42 188 30 184 25 
Expected return on plan assets(251)(1)(306)(1)(283)(1)
Amortization of unrecognized actuarial (gain) loss8 (38)120 (14)170 (28)
Amortization of prior service credits1 (112)— (112)— (123)
Special termination benefits - Voluntary Programs— — — — — 31 
Curtailment— — — — (8)— 
Other3 — 5 — 5 — 
Net periodic benefit cost (credit)$102 $(105)$211 $(88)$307 $(86)
The Company's expected Net periodic benefit cost (credit) for 2024 is as follows (in millions):
Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement Benefits
Net periodic benefit cost (credit)$108 $(78)
Assumptions Used for Benefit Plans
The assumptions used for the benefit plans were as follows: 
Pension Benefits
Assumptions used to determine benefit obligations20232022
Discount rate5.04 %5.20 %
Rate of compensation increase3.84 %3.83 %
Assumptions used to determine net expense
Discount rate5.20 %2.90 %
Expected return on plan assets7.53 %7.16 %
Rate of compensation increase3.83 %3.83 %
Other Postretirement Benefits
Assumptions used to determine benefit obligations20232022
Discount rate5.43 %5.66 %
Assumptions used to determine net expense
Discount rate5.66 %2.82 %
Expected return on plan assets3.00 %3.00 %
Health care cost trend rate assumed for next year7.00 %5.60 %
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
25-73
%9 %
Fixed-income securities
 14-53
 8  
Alternatives
3-27
 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 2024 net periodic benefit cost and the benefit obligations at December 31, 2023 (in millions):
Pension BenefitsOther Postretirement Benefits
Impact on Benefit Obligation at December 31, 2023
100 basis points decrease in the weighted average discount rate
$858 $48 
Impact on 2024 Net Periodic Benefit Cost
100 basis points decrease in the weighted average discount rate (a)
$96 $— 
100 basis points decrease in the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets
35 — 
(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):
20232022
Pension Plan Assets:TotalLevel 1Level 2Level 3Assets Measured at NAV(a)TotalLevel 1Level 2Level 3Assets Measured at NAV(a)
Equity securities funds$1,265 $74 $3 $134 $1,054 $1,183 $58 $26 $114 $985 
Fixed-income securities1,325 — 411 3 911 1,316 — 527 5 784 
Alternatives779 — — 136 643 887 — — 161 726 
Other investments230 13 87 3 127 81 6 16 5 54 
Total$3,599 $87 $501 $276 $2,735 $3,467 $64 $569 $285 $2,549 
Other Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets:
Deposit administration fund$46 $— $— $46 $— $48 $— $— $48 $— 
(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, 2023 and 2022 (in millions):
20232022
Balance at beginning of year$333 $435 
Actual income (loss) on plan assets:
Sold during the year(50)34 
Held at year end55 (39)
Purchases, sales, issuances and settlements (net)(16)(97)
Balance at end of year$322 $333 
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, 2023, are as follows (in millions):
PensionOther Postretirement
2024$268 $112 
2025301 100 
2026323 88 
2027348 80 
2028373 74 
Years 2029 – 20331,896 274 
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, 2023 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 $533 million in employers' contributions for the year ended December 31, 2022. For 2022, the Company's contributions to the IAM Plan represented more than 5% of total contributions to the IAM Plan. The 2023 information is not available as the applicable Form 5500 is not final for the plan year.
Pension FundIAM National Pension Fund ("IAM Fund")
EIN/ Pension Plan Number51-6031295 — 002
Pension Protection Act Zone Status (2023 and 2022)
Critical (2023 and 2022). 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 IAM Fund to be in critical status effective for the plan year beginning January 1, 2019 to strengthen the IAM Fund's financial health. The IAM Fund's funded percentage was 87.1% as of January 1, 2022.
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
$87 million, $75 million and $58 million in the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Surcharge ImposedNo
Expiration Date of Collective Bargaining AgreementN/A