v3.22.4
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFIT PROGRAMS
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFIT PROGRAMS
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFIT PROGRAMS
We sponsor a number of qualified and nonqualified pension plans for eligible employees. We also sponsor certain unfunded contributory healthcare and life insurance benefits for substantially all domestic retired employees. Newly hired employees in the United States and Puerto Rico are not eligible to participate in the pension plans but receive a higher level of company contributions in the defined contribution plans.
Reconciliation of Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plan Obligations, Assets and Funded Status
The benefit plan information in the table below pertains to all of our pension and OPEB plans, both in the United States and in other countries.    
Pension benefitsOPEB
as of and for the years ended December 31 (in millions)2022202120222021
Benefit obligations
Beginning of period$4,443 $4,313 $211 $228 
Service cost75 87 1 1 
Interest cost97 72 4 4 
Participant contributions4 4 — — 
Actuarial (gain) loss(1,213)(186)(37)(14)
Benefit payments(124)(103)(19)(19)
Settlements(17)(13)— — 
Curtailment(13)(5)— — 
Acquisitions— 364 — 11 
Plan Amendments1 15 — — 
Foreign exchange and other(107)(105)— — 
End of period3,146 4,443 160 211 
Fair value of plan assets
Beginning of period3,784 3,434 — — 
Actual return on plan assets(1,118)141 — — 
Employer contributions48 73 19 19 
Participant contributions4 4 — — 
Benefit payments(124)(103)(19)(19)
Settlements(17)(13)— — 
Acquisitions— 305 — — 
Foreign exchange and other(76)(57)— — 
End of period2,501 3,784 — — 
Funded status at December 31$(645)$(659)$(160)$(211)
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets
Noncurrent asset$123 $228 $— $— 
Current liability(31)(29)(18)(17)
Noncurrent liability(737)(858)(142)(194)
Net liability recognized at December 31$(645)$(659)$(160)$(211)
Actuarial gains and losses result from changes in actuarial assumptions (such as changes in the discount rate and revised mortality rates). Actuarial gains in 2022 and losses in 2021 related to plan benefit obligations were primarily the result of changes in discount rates.
The pension obligation information in the table above represents the projected benefit obligation (PBO). The PBO incorporates assumptions relating to future compensation levels. The accumulated benefit obligation (ABO) is the same as the PBO except that it includes no assumptions relating to future compensation levels. The ABO for all of our pension plans was $3.0 billion and $4.3 billion at the 2022 and 2021 measurement dates, respectively.
The information in the funded status table above represents the totals for all of our pension plans. The following table is information relating to the individual plans in the funded status table above that have an ABO in excess of plan assets.
as of December 31 (in millions)20222021
ABO$2,594 $2,991 
Fair value of plan assets$1,865 $2,209 
The following table presents information relating to the individual plans in the funded status table above that have a PBO in excess of plan assets (many of which also have an ABO in excess of assets and are therefore also included in the table directly above).
as of December 31 (in millions)20222021
PBO$2,774 $3,254 
Fair value of plan assets$2,006 $2,366 
Expected Net Pension and OPEB Plan Payments for the Next 10 Years
(in millions)Pension benefitsOPEB
2023$138 $18 
2024155 17 
2025167 16 
2026177 15 
2027192 14 
2028 through 20321,059 62 
Total expected net benefit payments for next 10 years$1,888 $142 
The expected net benefit payments above reflect the total net benefits expected to be paid from the plans’ assets (for funded plans) or from our assets (for unfunded plans). The federal subsidies relating to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act are not expected to be significant.
Amounts Recognized in AOCI
The pension and OPEB plans’ gains or losses, prior service costs or credits, and transition assets or obligations not yet recognized in net periodic benefit cost are recognized on a net-of-tax basis in AOCI and will be amortized from AOCI to net periodic benefit cost in the future. For active employees, we utilize the average future working lifetime as the amortization period for prior service. For inactive employees, we utilize the average remaining life expectancy as the amortization period for prior service.
The following table is a summary of the pre-tax losses included in AOCI at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
(in millions)Pension benefitsOPEB
Actuarial loss (gain)$509 $(69)
Prior service credit and transition obligation8 (27)
Total pre-tax loss (gain) recognized in AOCI at December 31, 2022$517 $(96)
Actuarial loss (gain)$509 $(37)
Prior service credit and transition obligation8 (36)
Total pre-tax loss (gain) recognized in AOCI at December 31, 2021$517 $(73)
Refer to Note 9 for the net-of-tax balances included in AOCI as of each of the year-end dates. The following table is a summary of the net-of-tax amounts recorded in OCI relating to pension and OPEB plans.
Year ended December 31 (in millions)202220212020
Gain (loss) arising during the year, net of tax of $6 in 2022, $43 in 2021 and $17 in 2020
$(9)$160 $59 
Amortization of loss to earnings, net of tax of $6 in 2022, $17 in 2021 and $12 in 2020
24 65 47 
Settlement charges, net of tax of zero in 2022, zero in 2021 and $11 in 2020
1 2 35 
Pension and other employee benefits$16 $227 $141 
In 2022, 2021 and 2020, OCI activity for pension and OPEB plans was primarily related to actuarial gains and losses.
Net Periodic Benefit Cost
Year ended December 31 (in millions)202220212020
Pension benefits
Service cost$75 $87 $83 
Interest cost97 72 95 
Expected return on plan assets(157)(143)(163)
Amortization of net losses and other deferred amounts44 91 77 
Curtailment gain(13)— — 
Settlement charges1 2 46 
Other1 (4)— 
Net periodic pension benefit cost$48 $105 $138 
OPEB
Service cost$1 $1 $1 
Interest cost4 4 6 
Amortization of net losses and prior service credit(14)(9)(18)
Net periodic OPEB cost$(9)$(4)$(11)
Weighted-Average Assumptions Used in Determining Benefit Obligations at the Measurement Date
Pension benefitsOPEB
2022202120222021
Discount rate
U.S. and Puerto Rico plans5.55 %3.01 %5.46 %2.76 %
International plans4.01 %1.47 %n/an/a
Rate of compensation increase
U.S. and Puerto Rico plans2.93 %3.68 %n/an/a
International plans3.34 %3.11 %n/an/a
Annual rate of increase in the per-capita costn/an/a6.50 %6.25 %
Rate decreased ton/an/a5.00 %5.00 %
by the year endedn/an/a20292027
The assumptions above, which were used in calculating the December 31, 2022 measurement date benefit obligations, will be used in the calculation of net periodic benefit cost in 2023.
Weighted-Average Assumptions Used in Determining Net Periodic Benefit Cost
Pension benefitsOPEB
202220212020202220212020
Discount rate
U.S. and Puerto Rico plans3.01 %2.73 %3.44 %2.76 %2.33 %3.16 %
International plans1.47 %1.00 %1.34 %n/an/an/a
Expected return on plan assets
U.S. and Puerto Rico plans5.00 %5.50 %6.50 %n/an/an/a
International plans3.82 %3.58 %4.23 %n/an/an/a
Rate of compensation increase
U.S. and Puerto Rico plans3.68 %3.68 %3.68 %n/an/an/a
International plans3.11 %3.03 %3.03 %n/an/an/a
Annual rate of increase in the per-capita costn/an/an/a6.50 %6.25 %6.50 %
Rate decreased ton/an/an/a5.00 %5.00 %5.00 %
by the year endedn/an/an/a202920272027
We established the expected return on plan assets assumption primarily based on a review of historical compound average asset returns, both company-specific and relating to the broad market (based on our asset allocation), as well as an analysis of current market and economic information and future expectations. We plan to use a 6.43% assumption for our U.S. and Puerto Rico plans for 2023.
Pension Plan Assets
An investment committee of members of senior management is responsible for supervising, monitoring and evaluating the invested assets of our funded pension plans. The investment committee, which meets at least quarterly, abides by documented policies and procedures relating to investment goals, targeted asset allocations, risk management practices, allowable and prohibited investment holdings, diversification, use of derivatives, the relationship between plan assets and benefit obligations, and other relevant factors and considerations.
The investment committee’s policies and procedures include the following:
•Ability to pay all benefits when due;
•Targeted long-term performance expectations relative to applicable market indices, such as Russell, MSCI EAFE, and other indices;
•Targeted asset allocation percentage ranges (summarized below), and periodic reviews of these allocations;
•Diversification of assets among third-party investment managers, and by geography, industry, stage of business cycle and other measures;
•Specified investment holding and transaction prohibitions (for example, private placements or other restricted securities, securities that are not traded in a sufficiently active market, short sales, certain derivatives, commodities and margin transactions);
•Specified portfolio percentage limits on holdings in a single corporate or other entity (generally 5% at time of purchase, except for holdings in U.S. government or agency securities);
•Specified average credit quality for the fixed-income securities portfolio (at least A- by Standard & Poor’s or A3 by Moody’s);
•Specified portfolio percentage limits on foreign holdings; and
•Periodic monitoring of investment manager performance and adherence to the investment committee’s policies.
Plan assets are invested using a total return investment approach whereby a mix of equity securities, debt securities and other investments are used to preserve asset values, diversify risk and exceed the planned benchmark
investment return. Investment strategies and asset allocations are based on consideration of plan liabilities, the plans’ funded status and other factors, such as the plans’ demographics and liability durations. Investment performance is reviewed by the investment committee on a quarterly basis and asset allocations are reviewed at least annually.
Plan assets are managed in a balanced portfolio comprised of two major components: return-seeking investments and liability hedging investments. The target allocations for plan assets are 50% in return-seeking investments and 50% in liability hedging investments and other holdings. The documented policy includes an allocation range based on each individual investment type within the major components that allows for a variance from the target allocations depending on the investment type. Return-seeking investments primarily include common stock of U.S. and international companies, common/collective trust funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, and partnership investments. Liability hedging investments and other holdings primarily include cash, money market funds with an original maturity of three months or less, U.S. and foreign government and governmental agency issues, corporate bonds, municipal securities, derivative contracts and asset-backed securities.
While the investment committee provides oversight over plan assets for U.S. and international plans, the summary above is specific to the plans in the United States. The plan assets for international plans are managed and allocated by the entities in each country, with input and oversight provided by the investment committee. The plan assets for the U.S. and international plans are included in the table below.
The following tables summarize our pension plan financial instruments that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis.
Basis of fair value measurement
(in millions)Balance at December 31, 2022Quoted prices
in active
markets for
identical assets
(Level 1)		Significant
other
observable
inputs
(Level 2)		Significant
unobservable
inputs
(Level 3)		Measured at NAV (a)
Assets
Fixed income securities
Cash and cash equivalents$371 $74 $297 $— $— 
U.S. government and government agency issues46 — 46 — — 
Corporate bonds310 — 310 — — 
Equity securities
Common stock296 296 — — — 
Mutual funds340 184 156 — —
Common/collective trust funds790 — 251 — 539 
Partnership investments263 — — — 263 
Other holdings85 21 56 8 — 
Fair value of pension plan assets$2,501 $575 $1,116 $8 $802 
(a) Certain assets that are measured at fair value using the NAV per share (or its equivalent) practical expedient have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy.
Basis of fair value measurement
(in millions)Balance at December 31, 2021Quoted prices
in active
markets for
identical assets
(Level 1)		Significant
other
observable
inputs
(Level 2)		Significant
unobservable
inputs
(Level 3)		Measured at NAV (a)
Assets
Fixed income securities
Cash and cash equivalents$368 $50 $318 $— $— 
U.S. government and government agency issues271 — 271 — — 
Corporate bonds573 — 573 — — 
Equity securities
Common stock452 452 — — — 
Mutual funds521 235 286 — —
Common/collective trust funds1,118 — 358 — 760 
Partnership investments329 — — — 329 
Other holdings152 21 122 9 — 
Fair value of pension plan assets$3,784 $758 $1,928 $9 $1,089 
(a) Certain assets that are measured at fair value using the NAV per share (or its equivalent) practical expedient have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy.
The following table is a reconciliation of changes in fair value measurements that used significant unobservable inputs (Level 3).
(in millions)Other
holdings
Balance at December 31, 2020$11 
Sales(2)
Balance at December 31, 20219 
Transfers out(1)
Balance at December 31, 2022$8 
The assets and liabilities of our pension plans are valued using the following valuation methods:
Investment categoryValuation methodology
Cash and cash equivalentsThese largely consist of a short-term investment fund, U.S. dollars and foreign currency. The fair value of the short-term investment fund is based on the net asset value.
U.S. government and government agency issuesValues are based on reputable pricing vendors, who typically use pricing matrices or models that use observable inputs.
Corporate bondsValues are based on reputable pricing vendors, who typically use pricing matrices or models that use observable inputs.
Common stockValues are based on the closing prices on the valuation date in an active market on national and international stock exchanges.
Mutual fundsValues are based on the net asset value of the units held in the respective fund which are obtained from national and international exchanges or based on the net asset value of the underlying assets of the fund provided by the fund manager.
Common/collective trust fundsValues are based on the net asset value of the units held at year end.
Partnership investmentsValues are based on the net asset value of the participation by us in the investment as determined by the general partner or investment manager of the respective partnership.
Other holdingsThe value of these assets vary by investment type, but primarily are determined by reputable pricing vendors, who use pricing matrices or models that use observable inputs.
Collateral held on loaned securitiesValues are based on the net asset value per unit of the fund in which the collateral is invested.
Collateral to be paid on loaned securitiesValues are based on the fair value of the underlying securities loaned on the valuation date.
Expected Pension and OPEB Plan Funding
Our funding policy for our pension plans is to contribute amounts sufficient to meet legal funding requirements, plus any additional amounts that we may determine to be appropriate considering the funded status of the plans, tax deductibility, the cash flows generated by us, and other factors. Volatility in the global financial markets could have an unfavorable impact on future funding requirements. We have no obligation to fund our principal plans in the United States and Puerto Rico in 2023. We continually reassess the amount and timing of any discretionary contributions. In 2023, we expect to make contributions of at least $43 million to our foreign pension plans. We expect to have net cash outflows relating to our OPEB plans of approximately $18 million in 2023.
The following table details the funded status percentage of our pension plans as of December 31, 2022, including certain plans that are unfunded in accordance with the guidelines of our funding policy outlined above.
United States and Puerto RicoInternational
as of December 31, 2022 (in millions)Qualified
plans		Nonqualified
plan		Funded
plans		Unfunded
plans		Total
Fair value of plan assets$1,745 n/a$756 n/a$2,501 
PBO1,969 $194 676 $307 3,146 
Funded status percentage89 %n/a112 %n/a79 %
Pension Settlement Transactions
In October 2020, we offered certain former U.S. employees with vested pension benefits a limited-time option to take a lump sum distribution in lieu of future monthly payments. This option expired in November 2020 and approximately 40% of the eligible participants accepted the offer. Payments from plan assets to participants who
accepted the offer were made in December 2020 and totaled $252 million. As a result of these transactions, we recognized non-cash pretax pension settlement charges of $43 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Pension Plan Amendments
In May 2022, we announced that the pay and service amounts used to calculate pension benefits for active non-bargaining participants in our U.S. Hillrom pension plan will freeze as of December 31, 2022. Years of additional service earned and eligible compensation received after December 31, 2022 will not be included in the determination of the benefits payable to those participants. This change resulted in an $11 million decline in the projected benefit obligation (PBO) with an offsetting curtailment gain included within other (income) expense, net on the consolidated statements of income (loss) for the year ended December 31, 2022.
As of December 31, 2022, we transferred the assets and liabilities of the Baxter International Inc. and Subsidiaries Pension Plan II to the Baxter International Inc. and Subsidiaries Pension Plan, resulting in one qualified U.S. defined benefit plan.
U.S. Defined Contribution Plan
Most U.S. employees are eligible to participate in a qualified defined contribution plan. We recognized expense of $96 million in 2022, $59 million in 2021 and $61 million in 2020 related to contributions to this plan.