Pensions and Other Post-Retirement Benefits (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

A summary of the activity for the Pension Plans follows:

	Year Ended December 31, 2019
	The			United
(IN MILLIONS)	Netherlands			States			Other			Total
Change in projected benefit obligation
Benefit obligation at beginning of period	$	647		$	338		$	613		$	1,598
Service cost		3		—				4			7
Interest cost		9			14			13			36
Plan participants’ contributions	—			—				1			1
Actuarial (gain)/loss		42			43			71			156
Benefits paid		(29	)		(17	)		(24	)		(70	)
Settlements	(573		)	—				(59	)		(632	)
Curtailments	(3		)	—				—			(3	)
Amendments		—		—				1			1
Effect of foreign currency translation		(14	)	—				16			2
Benefit obligation at end of period		82			378			636			1,096
Change in plan assets
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period		637			231			528			1,396
Actual return on plan assets		50			46			80			176
Employer contributions		4		10				14			28
Plan participants’ contributions	—			—				1			1
Benefits paid		(29	)		(17	)		(24	)		(70	)
Settlements	(573		)	—				(59	)		(632	)
Effect of foreign currency translation		(14	)	—				16			2
Fair value of plan assets at end of period		75			270			556			901
Funded status	$	(7	)	$	(108	)	$	(80	)	$	(195	)
Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets
Pension assets included in other non-current assets	—			—				26			26
Current liabilities	—				—			(2	)		(2	)
Accrued benefit liability included in other non-current liabilities		(7	)		(108	)		(104	)		(219	)
Net amount recognized	$	(7	)	$	(108	)	$	(80	)	$	(195	)
Amounts recognized in Other Comprehensive Income/(Loss), before tax
Net (gain)/loss	$	5		$	15		$	15		$	35
Settlement loss		(164	)		—			(6	)		(170	)
Curtailment gain recognized		1			—			—			1
Amortization of net loss		(5	)		(6	)		(2	)		(13	)
Total recognized in other comprehensive income/(loss)	$	(163	)	$	9		$	7		$	(147	)
Amounts not yet reflected in net periodic benefit cost and included in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income/(Loss), before tax
Unrecognized losses	$	27		$	123		$	136		$	286

	Year Ended December 31, 2018
	The			United
(IN MILLIONS)	Netherlands			States			Other			Total
Change in projected benefit obligation
Benefit obligation at beginning of period	$	724		$	370		$	678		$	1,772
Service cost		3		—				6			9
Interest cost		10			12			13			35
Plan participants’ contributions	—			—				1			1
Actuarial (gain)/loss		(29	)		(29	)		(28	)		(86	)
Benefits paid		(30	)		(15	)		(24	)		(69	)
Expenses paid		—		—				—			—
Premiums paid	—			—				(1	)		(1	)
Settlements	—			—				(4	)		(4	)
Combinations	—			—				2			2
Amendments		—		—				1			1
Effect of foreign currency translation		(31	)	—				(31	)		(62	)
Benefit obligation at end of period		647			338			613			1,598
Change in plan assets
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period		718			260			581			1,559
Actual return on plan assets		(25	)		(23	)		(14	)		(62	)
Employer contributions		5		9				15			29
Plan participants’ contributions	—			—				1			1
Benefits paid		(30	)		(15	)		(24	)		(69	)
Expenses paid		—		—				—			—
Premiums paid	—			—				(1	)		(1	)
Settlements	—			—				(4	)		(4	)
Combinations	—			—				2			2
Effect of foreign currency translation		(31	)	—				(28	)		(59	)
Fair value of plan assets at end of period		637			231			528			1,396
Funded status	$	(10	)	$	(107	)	$	(85	)	$	(202	)
Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets
Pension assets included in other non-current assets	—			—				17			17
Current liabilities	—				(1	)		(1	)		(2	)
Accrued benefit liability included in other non-current liabilities		(10	)		(106	)		(101	)		(217	)
Net amount recognized	$	(10	)	$	(107	)	$	(85	)	$	(202	)
Amounts recognized in Other Comprehensive Income/(Loss), before tax
Net (gain)/loss	$	11		$	10		$	1		$	22
Settlement loss		—			—			(1	)		(1)
Amortization of prior service cost		—			—			1			1
Amortization of net loss		(6	)		(9	)		(4	)		(19	)
Total recognized in other comprehensive income/(loss)	$	5		$	1		$	(3	)	$	3
Amounts not yet reflected in net periodic benefit cost and included in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income/(Loss), before tax
Unrecognized losses	$	190		$	114		$	129		$	433

Total Accumulated Benefit Obligation and Minimum Liability Changes for Pension Plans

The total accumulated benefit obligation and minimum liability changes for the Pension Plans were as follows:

	Year Ended		Year Ended		Year Ended
	December 31,		December 31,		December 31,
(IN MILLIONS)	2019		2018		2017
Accumulated benefit obligation.	$	1,078	$	1,579	$	1,750

	Pension Plans with Accumulated
	Benefit Obligation in Excess of Plan
	Assets at December 31, 2019
	The		United
(IN MILLIONS)	Netherlands		States		Other		Total
Projected benefit obligation	$	83	$	377	$	428	$	888
Accumulated benefit obligation		83		377		414		874
Fair value of plan assets		75		270		323		668

	Pension Plans with Projected
	Benefit Obligation in Excess of Plan
	Assets at December 31, 2019
	The		United
(IN MILLIONS)	Netherlands		States		Other		Total
Projected benefit obligation	$	83	$	377	$	483	$	943
Accumulated benefit obligation		83		377		618		1,078
Fair value of plan assets		75		270		378		723

	Pension Plans with Accumulated
	Benefit Obligation in Excess of Plan
	Assets at December 31, 2018
	The		United
(IN MILLIONS)	Netherlands		States		Other		Total
Projected benefit obligation	$	646	$	338	$	506	$	1,490
Accumulated benefit obligation		644		338		491		1,473
Fair value of plan assets		637		231		404		1,272

	Pension Plans with Projected
	Benefit Obligation in Excess of Plan
	Assets at December 31, 2018
	The		United
(IN MILLIONS)	Netherlands		States		Other		Total
Projected benefit obligation	$	646	$	338	$	506	$	1,490
Accumulated benefit obligation		644		338		597		1,579
Fair value of plan assets		637		231		404		1,272

Net Periodic Benefit Cost

Net periodic benefit cost for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively, includes the following components:

	Net Periodic Pension Costs
	The			United
(IN MILLIONS)	Netherlands			States			Other			Total
Year ended December 31, 2019
Service cost	$	3		$	—		$	4		$	7
Interest cost		9			14			13			36
Expected return on plan assets		(20	)		(17	)		(21	)		(58	)
Settlement loss recognized		164			—			6			170
Curtailment gain recognized		(1	)		—			—			(1	)
Amortization of net loss		5			6			2			13
Net periodic pension cost	$	160			3			4			167
Year ended December 31, 2018
Service cost	$	3		$	—		$	6		$	9
Interest cost		10			12			13			35
Expected return on plan assets		(23	)		(17	)		(21	)		(61	)
Settlement loss recognized		—			—			1			1
Amortization of prior service costs		—			—			(1	)		(1	)
Amortization of net loss		6			9			4			19
Net periodic pension cost	$	(4	)		4			2			2
Year ended December 31, 2017
Service cost	$	5		$	—		$	8		$	13
Interest cost		9			12			13			34
Expected return on plan assets		(24	)		(17	)		(22	)		(63	)
Settlement loss recognized		—			—			1			1
Amortization of prior service costs		—			—			(1	)		(1	)
Amortization of net loss		7			6			5			18
Net periodic pension cost	$	(3	)		1			4			2

Component of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income/(Loss) Expected to be Recognized

The deferred loss included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income/(loss) that is expected to be recognized as a component of net periodic benefit cost during 2020 is as follows:

The

Netherlands

United

States

Other

Total

Net actuarial loss

)

(11

)

(17

)

Weighted Average Assumptions Underlying Pension Computations

The weighted average assumptions underlying the pension computations were as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
	NL	US	Other	NL	US	Other	NL	US	Other
Pension benefit obligation:
—discount rate	1.5%	3.4%	1.9%	2.0%	4.4%	2.5%	1.9%	3.7%	2.3%
—rate of compensation increase	—	—	1.1%	1.8%	—	1.1%	1.8%	—	1.1%
Net periodic pension costs:
—discount rate	2.0%	4.4%	2.5%	1.9%	3.7%	2.3%	1.8%	4.4%	2.3%
—rate of compensation increase	1.8%	—	1.1%	1.8%	—	1.1%	3.8%	—	1.1%
—expected long-term return on plan assets	3.5%	6.7%	4.2%	3.6%	6.9%	4.3%	3.8%	7.0%	4.4%

Weighted Average Asset Allocation by Asset Category

Nielsen’s pension plans’ weighted average asset allocations by asset category are as follows:

	The			United
	Netherlands			States			Other			Total
At December 31, 2019
Equity securities		39	%		54	%		50	%		51	%
Fixed income securities		53			45			39			43
Other		8			1			11			6
Total		100	%		100	%		100	%		100	%
At December 31, 2018
Equity securities		21	%		52	%		41	%		33	%
Fixed income securities		62			47			28			50
Other		17			1			31			17
Total		100	%		100	%		100	%		100	%

Assets at Fair Value

Assets at fair value (See Note 9 – “Fair Value Measurements” for additional information on fair value measurement and the underlying fair value hierarchy) as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 are as follows:

(IN MILLIONS)	December 31, 2019								December 31, 2018
Asset Category	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash and equivalents	$	11	$	—	$	—	$	11	$	30	$	—	$	—	$	30
Equity securities – U.S.		75		4		—		79		53		10		—		63
Equity securities – Global.		36		115		—		151		37		206		—		243
Equity securities – non-U.S.		9		80		—		89		9		68		—		77
Real estate		—		—		22		22		—		—		42		42
Corporate bonds		112		80		—		192		100		270		—		370
Debt issued by national, state or local government		38		39		—		77		31		194		—		225
Other		—		6		—		6		—		2		132		134
Total assets at fair value, excluding NAV per share practical expedient at December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018	$	281	$	324	$	22	$	627	$	260	$	750	$	174	$	1,184

The following presents our total fair value of plan assets including the NAV per share practical expedient:

(IN MILLIONS)	December 31, 2019			December 31, 2018
Fair value of investments, excluding NAV per share practical expedient.		$	627	$	1,184

Fair value of investments, using NAV per share practical expedient
Asset Category
Cash		$	6	$	4
Equity securities – U.S.			30		23
Equity securities – Global.			40		29
Corporate debt securities or bonds.			—		—
Debt issued by national, state or local government			10		10
Liability driven investments			76		59
Real estate			5		6
Private equity and hedge funds			73		60
Insurance and other			34		21
Total assets at fair value including NAV per share practical expedient at December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018		$	901	$	1,396

Summary of Changes in Fair Value of Pension Plans Level 3 Assets

The following is a summary of changes in the fair value of the Pension Plans’ Level 3 assets for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

(IN MILLIONS)	Real Estate			Other			Total
Balance, end of year December 31, 2017	$	47		$	149		$	196
Actual return on plan assets:
(Sales)/investments		(4	)		(8	)		(12	)
Unrealized gains		—			(1	)		(1	)
Effect of foreign currency translation		(1	)		(8	)		(9	)
Balance, end of year December 31, 2018	$	42		$	132		$	174
Actual return on plan assets:
(Sales)/Investments		(2	)		—			(2	)
Settlements		(18	)		(130	)		(148	)
Unrealized losses		—			—			—
Effect of foreign currency translation		—			(2	)		(2	)
Balance, end of year December 31, 2019	$	22		$	—		$	22

Estimated Future Benefit Payments

Estimated future benefit payments are as follows:

	The		United
(IN MILLIONS)	Netherlands		States		Other		Total
For the years ending December 31,
2020	$	2	$	16	$	20	$	38
2021		2		16		21		39
2022		2		17		22		41
2023		2		18		23		43
2024		2		19		23		44
2025-2029		12		102		137		251