Retirement Benefits

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Retirement Benefits

Retirement Benefits

The Company maintains qualified and non-qualified defined benefit pension plans for its U.S. and non-U.S. eligible employees. The Company’s policy for funding its tax-qualified defined benefit retirement plans is to contribute amounts at least sufficient to meet the funding requirements set forth by U.S. law and the laws of the non-U.S. jurisdictions in which the Company offers defined benefit plans.

The weighted average actuarial assumptions utilized to calculate the net periodic benefit costs for the U.S. and significant non-U.S. defined benefit plans are as follows:

Combined U.S. and significant non-U.S. Plans	Pension Benefits
March 31,	2024		2023
Weighted average assumptions:
Expected return on plan assets	5.44	%	5.31	%
Discount rate	4.95	%	5.16	%
Rate of compensation increase *	3.16	%	3.16	%

(*) There are no rate of compensation increase assumptions for the U.S. defined benefit plans since future benefit accruals were discontinued for those plans after December 31, 2016 and earned benefits are not subject to final salary level adjustments.

The target asset allocation for the U.S. plans is 50% equities and equity alternatives and 50% fixed income. At March 31, 2024, the actual allocation for the U.S. plans was 51% equities and equity alternatives, and 49% fixed income. The target allocation for the U.K. plans at March 31, 2024 is 14% equities and equity alternatives and 86% fixed income. At March 31, 2024, the actual allocation for the U.K. plans was 14% equities and equity alternatives and 86% fixed income. The Company's U.K. plans comprised approximately 79% of non-U.S. plan assets at December 31, 2023. The assets of the Company's defined benefit plans are diversified and are managed in accordance with applicable laws and with the goal of maximizing the plans' real return within acceptable risk parameters. The Company uses threshold-based portfolio re-balancing to ensure the actual portfolio remains consistent with target asset allocation ranges.

The net benefit cost or credit of the Company's defined benefit plans is measured on an actuarial basis using various methods and assumptions. The components of the net benefit credit for defined benefit plans are as follows:

Combined U.S. and significant non-U.S. Plans
For the Three Months Ended March 31,	Pension Benefits
(In millions)	2024		2023
Service cost	$	6	$	6
Interest cost	144		148
Expected return on plan assets	(219)		(212)
Recognized actuarial loss	8		6
Net benefit credit	$	(61)	$	(52)

The following table provides the amounts reported in the consolidated statements of income:

Combined U.S. and significant non-U.S. Plans
For the Three Months Ended March 31,	Pension Benefits
(In millions)	2024		2023
Compensation and benefits expense	$	6	$	6
Other net benefit credits	(67)		(58)
Net benefit credit	$	(61)	$	(52)

U.S. Plans only
For the Three Months Ended March 31,	Pension Benefits
(In millions)	2024		2023
Interest cost	$	62	$	65
Expected return on plan assets	(76)		(78)
Recognized actuarial loss	5		5
Net benefit credit	$	(9)	$	(8)

Significant non-U.S. Plans only
For the Three Months Ended March 31,	Pension Benefits
(In millions)	2024		2023
Service cost	$	6	$	6
Interest cost	82		83
Expected return on plan assets	(143)		(134)
Recognized actuarial loss	3		1
Net benefit credit	$	(52)	$	(44)

The Company made contributions to its U.S. and non-U.S. defined benefit pension plans for the three months ended March 31, 2024 of approximately $24 million compared to contributions of $21 million for the corresponding quarter in the prior year. The Company expects to contribute approximately $69 million to its U.S. and non-U.S. defined benefit pension plans during the remainder of 2024.

Defined Contribution Plans

The Company maintains defined contribution plans ("DC Plans") for its employees, the most significant being in the U.S. and the U.K. The cost of the U.S. DC Plans was $49 million and $44 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The cost of the U.K. DC Plans was $52 million and $43 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.