Employee Benefit Obligations

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2026

Employee Benefit Obligations

Employee Benefit Obligations

17. Employee Benefit Obligations


		March 31,			December 31,
($ in millions)		2026			2025

Underfunded defined benefit pension liabilities		$	179		$	191
Less: Current portion			(19)			(19)
Long-term defined benefit pension liabilities			160			172
Long-term retiree medical liabilities			77			77
Deferred compensation plans			158			178
Other			67			72
		$	462		$	499

Components of net periodic benefit cost associated with the company’s defined benefit pension plans were as follows:


		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2026									2025
($ in millions)		U.S.			Non-U.S.			Total			U.S.			Non-U.S.			Total

Ball-sponsored plans:
Service cost		$	3		$	—		$	3		$	4		$	—		$	4
Interest cost			12			23			35			14			22			36
Expected return on plan assets			(19)			(22)			(41)			(20)			(21)			(41)
Amortization of prior service cost			—			1			1			—			1			1
Recognized net actuarial loss			1			4			5			1			4			5
Total net periodic benefit cost		$	(3)		$	6		$	3		$	(1)		$	6		$	5

Non-service pension income of $1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, is included in selling, general and administrative in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of earnings.

Contributions to the company’s defined benefit pension plans were $7 million for the first three months of 2026 and

2025, and such contributions are expected to be approximately $29 million for the full year of 2026. This estimate may change based on changes in the Pension Protection Act, actual plan asset performance and available company cash flow, among other factors.

In November 2023, the Trustee Board of the U.K. defined benefit pension plan entered into an agreement with an insurance company for a bulk annuity purchase, or “buy-in”, for its U.K. defined benefit pension plan to reduce retirement plan risk, while delivering promised benefits to plan participants. This transaction allows the company to reduce volatility by removing investment, longevity, mortality, interest rate and inflation risk upon the transfer of substantially all of the pension plan assets to the insurer in exchange for the group annuity insurance contract. At this time the company retains both the fair value of the annuity contract within plan assets and the pension benefit obligations related to these participants. The plan was frozen on April 5, 2024, and future service accruals were replaced with defined contribution benefits for the impacted employees. The company anticipates the “buy-out” will occur within the second half of 2026, which will trigger a pension settlement that will result in all plan balances, including accumulated pension components within other comprehensive income, being charged to expense as a noncash settlement charge. As of March 31, 2026, accumulated other comprehensive income included $463 million of unrecognized pension losses, expected to be recognized upon settlement.