v3.22.4
Employee Benefit Plans (Notes)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Disclosures [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans Employee Benefit Plans
Pension Plans

The Company sponsors qualified and unqualified defined benefit pension plans that provide pension benefits to a majority of employees who were employed by TWC before the merger with TWC. Pension benefits are based on formulas that reflect the employees’ years of service and compensation during their employment period. Actuarial gains or losses are changes in the amount of either the benefit obligation or the fair value of plan assets resulting from experience different from that assumed or from changes in assumptions. The Company has elected to follow a mark-to-market pension accounting policy for recording the actuarial gains or losses annually during the fourth quarter, or earlier if a remeasurement event occurs during an interim period.

Changes in the projected benefit obligation, fair value of plan assets and funded status of the pension plans from January 1 through December 31 are presented below:
20222021
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year$3,374 $3,688 
Interest cost103 97 
Actuarial gain(1,032)(183)
Settlement(146)(173)
Benefits paid(56)(55)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year
$2,243 $3,374 
Accumulated benefit obligation at end of year $2,243 $3,374 
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year$3,457 $3,462 
Actual return on plan assets(675)219 
Employer contributions3 4 
Settlement(146)(173)
Benefits paid(56)(55)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year $2,583 $3,457 
Funded status$340 $83 
The components of net periodic benefit (cost) for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 consisted of the following:

Year Ended December 31,
202220212020
Interest cost$(103)$(97)$(110)
Expected return on plan assets156 165 156 
Remeasurement gain (loss)201 237 (112)
Net periodic pension benefit (cost)$254 $305 $(66)

The remeasurement gains (losses) recorded during the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 were primarily driven by changes in the discount rate as well as gains or losses to record pension assets to fair value.

The discount rates used to determine benefit obligations as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 were 5.46% and 3.01%, respectively. The Company utilized the Pri-2012/MP 2020 mortality table published by the Society of Actuaries to measure the benefit obligations as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.

Weighted average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit costs consisted of the following:

Year ended December 31,
202220212020
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets5.00 %5.00 %5.00 %
Discount rate 3.01 %2.70 %3.48 %

In developing the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, the Company considered the pension portfolio’s composition, past average rate of earnings and the Company’s future asset allocation targets. The weighted average expected long-term rate of return on plan assets and discount rate used to determine net periodic pension benefit (cost) for the year ended December 31, 2023 are expected to be 5.00% and 5.46%, respectively. The Company determined the discount rates used to determine benefit obligations and net periodic pension benefit (cost) based on the yield of a large population of high quality corporate bonds with cash flows sufficient in timing and amount to settle projected future defined benefit payments.

Pension Plan Assets

The assets of the qualified pension plans are held in a master trust in which the qualified pension plans are the only participating plans (the “Master Trust”). The investment policy for the qualified pension plans is to manage the assets of the Master Trust with the objective to provide for pension liabilities to be met, maintaining retirement income security for the participants of the plans and their beneficiaries. The investment portfolio is a mix of pooled funds invested in fixed income securities, equity securities and certain alternative investments with the objective of matching plan liability performance, diversifying risk and achieving a target investment return. Pension assets are managed in a balanced portfolio comprised of two major components: a return-seeking portion and a liability-matching portion.

The Company uses an investment strategy designed to increase the fixed income allocation as the funded status of the qualified pension plans improves. As the qualified pension plans reach set funded status milestones, the assets will be rebalanced to shift more assets from equity to fixed income. Based on the progress with this strategy, the target investment allocation for pension fund assets is permitted to vary within specified ranges subject to Investment Committee approval for return-seeking securities and liability-matching securities. As of December 31, 2022, the target investment allocation for return-seeking securities was 20%-40%, with the remaining in liability-matching securities. The actual investment allocation as of December 31, 2022 was 42.1% return-seeking and 57.9% liability-matching.
The following tables set forth the investment assets of the qualified pension plans by level within the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:

December 31, 2022December 31, 2021
Fair ValueLevel 1Level 2Fair ValueLevel 1Level 2
Cash$6 $6 $— $2 $2 $— 
Collective trust funds(a)
1,858 — 1,858 2,708 — 2,708 
Total investment assets1,864 $6 $1,858 2,710 $2 $2,708 
Accrued investment income and other receivables42 247 
Accrued liabilities(25)(46)
Investments measured at net asset value(b)
702 546 
Fair value of plan assets$2,583 $3,457 

(a)Collective trust funds consist of bond funds with corporate and U.S. treasury debt securities, equity funds with global equity index, infrastructure and real estate securities and short-term investment strategies comprised of instruments issued or fully guaranteed by the U.S. government and/or its agencies and multi-strategy funds, which are valued using the net assets provided by the administrator of the fund. The value of each fund is based on the readily determinable fair value of the underlying assets owned by the fund, less liabilities, and then divided by the number of units outstanding.
(b)As a practical expedient, certain investment classes which hold securities that are not readily available for redemption and 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. The primary investment classes include alternative, fixed income and real estate funds. Certain investments report NAV per share on a month or quarter lag. There are no material unfunded commitments with respect to these investment classes.

Pension Plan Contributions
The Company made no cash contributions to the qualified pension plans during the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020; however, the Company may make discretionary cash contributions to the qualified pension plans in the future. Such contributions will be dependent on a variety of factors, including current and expected interest rates, asset performance, the funded status of the qualified pension plans and management’s judgment. For the nonqualified unfunded pension plan, the Company will continue to make contributions during 2023 to the extent benefits are paid.

Benefit payments for the pension plans are expected to be $191 million in 2023, $180 million in 2024, $173 million in 2025, $167 million in 2026, $162 million in 2027 and $746 million in 2028 to 2032.

Defined Contribution Benefit Plans

The Company’s employees may participate in the Charter Communications, Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan (the “401(k) Plan”). Employees that qualify for participation can contribute up to 50% of their salary, on a pre-tax basis, subject to a maximum contribution limit as determined by the IRS. The Company’s matching contribution is discretionary and is equal to 100% of the amount of the salary reduction the participant elects to defer (up to 6% of the participant’s eligible compensation), excluding any catch-up contributions and is paid by the Company on a per pay period basis. 

For employees who are not eligible to participate in the Company’s long-term incentive plan and who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the Company offers a contribution to the Retirement Accumulation Plan ("RAP"), equal to 3% of eligible pay. The Company made contributions to the 401(k) plan and RAP totaling $506 million, $495 million and $493 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.