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Employee Benefits
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2026
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee Benefits
Note 7—Employee Benefits

For detailed descriptions of the various defined benefit pension plans (qualified and non-qualified), post-retirement benefits plan, and defined contribution plan we sponsor, see Note 11—Employee Benefits to the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes in Part II, Item 8 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.

Net periodic benefit expense for the Lumen Combined Pension Plan (the "Combined Pension Plan" or the "Plan") includes the following components:

Combined Pension Plan
 Three Months Ended March 31,
20262025
 (Dollars in millions)
Service cost$4 5 
Interest cost51 60 
Expected return on plan assets(64)(63)
Settlement charges9 — 
Curtailment loss5 — 
Recognition of actuarial loss28 35 
Net periodic pension expense$33 37 

Net periodic benefit expense for our post-retirement benefit plan includes the following components:

 
Post-Retirement Benefit Plan
 Three Months Ended March 31,
 20262025
 (Dollars in millions)
Service cost$1 1 
Interest cost19 22 
Recognition of prior service credit(1)(2)
Recognition of actuarial gain(7)(6)
Curtailment gain(10)— 
Net periodic post-retirement benefit expense$2 15 
Service costs for our pension and post-retirement benefit plan are included in the Cost of services and products (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) and Selling, general and administrative line items in our consolidated statements of operations and all other costs listed above are included in Other income, net in our consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025.

In connection with the sale of our Mass Markets Fiber-to-the Home business described in Note 2—Divestiture, the pension liability for certain employees and an immaterial amount of pension assets was transferred to a pension plan sponsored by the purchaser. This transaction triggered a settlement charge for the Combined Pension Plan of $9 million that was recognized as part of the gain on the sale of the business, within our operating income in our consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2026. In addition, the transfer of employees as part of the sale and the related termination of other employees related to the sale resulted in a curtailment loss for the Combined Pension Plan of $5 million, including the recognition of $1 million in prior service costs and a curtailment gain of $10 million for our post-retirement benefit plan, including the recognition of $6 million of prior service credits. This net curtailment gain was also recognized as part of the gain on the sale of the business, reflected in our consolidated statements of operations as described above.

Our Combined Pension Plan contains provisions that allow us, from time to time, to offer lump sum payment options to certain former employees in settlement of their future retirement benefits. We record an accounting settlement charge, consisting of the recognition of certain deferred costs of the pension plan associated with these lump sum payments, only if in the aggregate they exceed or are probable to exceed the sum of the annual service and interest costs for the plan’s net periodic pension benefit cost, which represents the settlement accounting threshold. The amount of any future non-cash settlement charges will be dependent on several factors, including the total amount of our future lump sum benefit payments.

Benefits paid by the Combined Pension Plan are paid through a trust that holds the Plan's assets. The amount of required contributions to the Combined Pension Plan in 2026 and beyond will depend on a variety of factors, most of which are beyond our control, including earnings on plan investments, prevailing interest rates, demographic experience, changes in plan benefits, and changes in funding laws and regulations. We made a voluntary contribution of $101 million to the trust for the Combined Pension Plan during the first quarter of 2026. Based on current laws and circumstances, we do not expect to be required to make any additional contributions in 2026.