Fair Value (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Fair Value

Certain assets and liabilities are measured at fair value in the Consolidated Financial Statements or have fair values disclosed in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. These assets and liabilities are classified into one of three levels of a hierarchy defined by GAAP. In instances in which the inputs used to measure fair value fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular item to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, including the consideration of inputs specific to the asset or liability.

The fair value hierarchy is summarized as follows:

Level 1 — Quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets/liabilities in active markets.

Level 2 — Other observable inputs, either directly or indirectly, including:


•	Quoted prices for similar assets/liabilities in active markets;


•	Quoted prices for identical or similar assets/liabilities in inactive markets (e.g., few transactions, limited information, noncurrent prices, high variability over time);


•	Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset/liability (e.g., interest rates, yield curves, implied volatilities, credit spreads); and


•	Inputs that are corroborated by other observable market data.

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that cannot be corroborated by observable market data.

There were no transfers in or out of Level 3 financial assets or liabilities during the years ended December 31, 2019 or 2018.

Nonfinancial assets and liabilities or financial assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis are subject to fair value adjustments only in certain circumstances, such as when the Company records an impairment. There were no significant fair value adjustments for these assets and liabilities recorded during the years ended December 31, 2019 or 2018.

The following methods and assumptions were used to estimate the fair value and determine the fair value hierarchy classification of each class of financial instrument included in the tables below:

Cash and Cash Equivalents. The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents approximates fair value as maturities are less than three months. Fair values of cash equivalent instruments that do not trade on a regular basis in active markets are classified as Level 2.

Debt and Equity Securities. Fair values of debt and equity securities are based on quoted market prices, where available. The Company obtains one price for each security primarily from a third-party pricing service (pricing service), which generally uses quoted or other observable inputs for the determination of fair value. The pricing service normally derives the security prices through recently reported trades for identical or similar securities, and, if necessary, makes adjustments through the reporting date based upon available observable market information. For securities not actively traded, the pricing service may use quoted market prices of comparable instruments or discounted cash flow analyses, incorporating inputs that are currently observable in the markets for similar securities. Inputs that are often used in the valuation methodologies include, but are not limited to, benchmark yields, credit spreads, default rates, prepayment speeds and nonbinding broker quotes. As the Company is responsible for the determination of fair value, it performs quarterly analyses on the prices received from the pricing service to determine whether the prices are reasonable estimates of fair value. Specifically, the Company compares the prices received from the pricing service to prices reported by a secondary pricing source, such as its custodian, its investment consultant and third-party investment advisors. Additionally, the Company compares changes in the reported market values and returns to relevant market indices to test the reasonableness of the reported prices. The Company’s internal price verification procedures and reviews of fair value methodology documentation provided by independent pricing services have not historically resulted in adjustment to the prices obtained from the pricing service.

Fair values of debt securities that do not trade on a regular basis in active markets but are priced using other observable inputs are classified as Level 2.

Fair value estimates for Level 1 and Level 2 equity securities are based on quoted market prices for actively traded equity securities and/or other market data for the same or comparable instruments and transactions in establishing the prices.

The fair values of Level 3 investments in corporate bonds, which are not a significant portion of our investments, are estimated using valuation techniques that rely heavily on management assumptions and qualitative observations.

Throughout the procedures discussed above in relation to the Company’s processes for validating third-party pricing information, the Company validates the understanding of assumptions and inputs used in security pricing and determines the proper classification in the hierarchy based on that understanding.

Assets Under Management. Assets under management consists of debt securities and other investments held to fund costs associated with the AARP Program and are priced and classified using the same methodologies as the Company’s investments in debt and equity securities.

Long-Term Debt. The fair values of the Company’s long-term debt are estimated and classified using the same methodologies as the Company’s investments in debt securities.

The following table presents a summary of fair value measurements by level and carrying values for items measured at fair value on a recurring basis in the Consolidated Balance Sheets:



(in millions)	Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)			Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)			Total Fair and Carrying Value
December 31, 2019
Cash and cash equivalents	$	10,837		$	148		$	—		$	10,985
Debt securities - available-for-sale:
U.S. government and agency obligations	3,369			184			—			3,553
State and municipal obligations	—			5,926			—			5,926
Corporate obligations	70			17,923			249			18,242
U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	—			6,528			—			6,528
Non-U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	—			1,845			—			1,845
Total debt securities - available-for-sale	3,439			32,406			249			36,094
Equity securities	1,734			22			—			1,756
Assets under management	1,123			1,918			35			3,076
Total assets at fair value	$	17,133		$	34,494		$	284		$	51,911
Percentage of total assets at fair value	33		%	66		%	1		%	100		%
December 31, 2018
Cash and cash equivalents	$	10,757		$	109		$	—		$	10,866
Debt securities - available-for-sale:
U.S. government and agency obligations	3,060			345			—			3,405
State and municipal obligations	—			7,121			—			7,121
Corporate obligations	39			14,950			173			15,162
U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	—			4,852			—			4,852
Non-U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	—			1,358			—			1,358
Total debt securities - available-for-sale	3,099			28,626			173			31,898
Equity securities	1,832			13			—			1,845
Assets under management	1,086			1,938			8			3,032
Total assets at fair value	$	16,774		$	30,686		$	181		$	47,641
Percentage of total assets at fair value	35		%	65		%	—		%	100		%

The following table presents a summary of fair value measurements by level and carrying values for certain financial instruments not measured at fair value on a recurring basis in the Consolidated Balance Sheets:



(in millions)	Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total Fair Value		Total Carrying Value
December 31, 2019
Debt securities - held-to-maturity	$	541	$	181	$	253	$	975	$	972
Long-term debt and other financing obligations	$	—	$	45,078	$	—	$	45,078	$	40,278
December 31, 2018
Debt securities - held-to-maturity	$	260	$	65	$	295	$	620	$	621
Long-term debt and other financing obligations	$	—	$	37,944	$	—	$	37,944	$	36,554

The carrying amounts reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheets for other current financial assets and liabilities approximate fair value because of their short-term nature. These assets and liabilities are not listed in the table above.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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