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Postretirement Benefit Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Postretirement Benefit Plans Post-retirement Benefit Plans
Defined contribution plans – Xylem and certain of our subsidiaries maintain various defined contribution savings plans, which allow employees to contribute a portion of their pre-tax and/or after-tax income in accordance with specified guidelines. Several of the plans require us to match a percentage of the employee contributions up to certain limits, generally between 3.0% – 7.0% of employee eligible pay. Matching obligations, the majority of which were funded in cash in connection with the plans, and other company contributions are as follows:
(in millions)Defined Contribution
2021$60 
202056 
201949 
The Xylem Stock Fund, an investment option under the defined contribution plan in which Company employees participate is considered an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. As a result, participants in the Xylem Stock Fund may receive dividends in cash or may reinvest such dividends into the Xylem Stock Fund. Company employees held approximately 256 thousand and 267 thousand shares of Xylem Inc. common stock in the Xylem Stock Fund at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Defined benefit pension plans and other post-retirement plans – We historically have maintained qualified and non-qualified defined benefit retirement plans covering certain current and former employees, including hourly and union plans as well as salaried plans, which generally require up to 5 years of service to be vested and for which the benefits are determined based on years of credited service and either specified rates, final pay, or final average pay. The other post-retirement benefit plans are all unfunded plans in the U.S. and Canada.
During 2021 and 2020, we made several amendments to plans that had no material impact to the Company's financial statements.
Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets for pension and other employee-related benefit plans (collectively, "Post-retirement Plans") reflect the funded status of the post-retirement benefit plans. The following table provides a summary of the funded status of our Post-retirement Plans, the presentation of such balances and a summary of amounts recorded within accumulated other comprehensive income:
(in millions)December 31, 2021December 31, 2020
 PensionOtherTotalPensionOtherTotal
Fair value of plan assets$679 $— $679 $691 $— $691 
Projected benefit obligation(1,043)(42)(1,085)(1,155)(44)(1,199)
Funded status$(364)$(42)$(406)$(464)$(44)$(508)
Amounts recognized in the balance sheet
Other non-current assets$48 $— $48 $27 $— $27 
Accrued and other current liabilities(13)(3)(16)(13)(3)(16)
Accrued post-retirement benefits(399)(39)(438)(478)(41)(519)
Net amount recognized$(364)$(42)$(406)$(464)$(44)$(508)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss):
Net actuarial losses$(326)$(17)$(343)$(409)$(18)$(427)
Prior service credit(4)7 3 (3)9 6 
Total$(330)$(10)$(340)$(412)$(9)$(421)
The unrecognized amounts recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income will be subsequently recognized as expense on a straight-line basis only to the extent they exceed 10% of the higher of the market-related value or the projected benefit obligation, over the average remaining service period of active participants, or for plans with all or substantially all inactive participants, over the average remaining life expectancy. Actuarial gains and losses incurred in future periods and not recognized as expense in those periods will be recognized as increases or decreases in other comprehensive income, net of tax.
The Company initiated the process for a full buy-out of its largest defined benefit plan in the U.K. in 2019. As a result of actions taken, lump sum payments of $21 million were paid out of the plan assets, and the Company recorded a settlement charge of $8 million during the third quarter of 2019. During the first quarter of 2020, the Company purchased a bulk annuity policy as a plan asset to facilitate the termination and buy-out of the plan. The bulk annuity fully insures the benefits payable to the participants of the plan until a full buy-out of the plan can be executed, which is expected to occur in 2022. On January 27, 2020, the plan's assets of $336 million were transferred to the insurance company for the purchase of the bulk annuity contract. Included in the Company's year ended December 31, 2020 contributions is $5 million paid to meet the shortfall between the cost of the bulk annuity policy and the plan assets.
The benefit obligation, fair value of plan assets, funded status, and amounts recognized in the consolidated financial statements for our defined benefit domestic and international pension plans were:
Domestic PlansInternational Plans
December 31,December 31,
(in millions)2021202020212020
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year$123 $113 $1,032 $846 
Service cost3 3 14 13 
Interest cost3 3 11 16 
Benefits paid(7)(6)(34)(34)
Actuarial loss (gain)(5)10 (56)130 
Plan amendments, settlements and curtailments— — (3)(1)
Foreign currency translation/other— — (38)62 
Benefit obligation at end of year$117 $123 $926 $1,032 
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year$113 105 $578 $500 
Employer contributions— — 26 24 
Actual return on plan assets2 14 9 70 
Benefits paid(7)(6)(34)(34)
Plan amendments, settlements and curtailments— — (3)(1)
Foreign currency translation/other— — (5)19 
Fair value of plan assets at end of year$108 $113 $571 $578 
Unfunded status of the plans$(9)$(10)$(355)$(454)
The following table provides a roll-forward of the projected benefit obligation for the other post-retirement employee benefit plans:
(in millions)20212020
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year$44 $49 
Interest cost1 2 
Benefits paid(3)(3)
Actuarial gain— 1 
Plan Amendment and other— (5)
Benefit obligation at the end of year$42 $44 
The accumulated benefit obligation (“ABO”) for all the defined benefit pension plans was $1,009 million and $1,107 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
For defined benefit pension plans in which the ABO was in excess of the fair value of the plans’ assets, the projected benefit obligation, ABO and fair value of the plans’ assets were as follows:
December 31,
(in millions)20212020
Projected benefit obligation$574 $1,026 
Accumulated benefit obligation541 983 
Fair value of plan assets164 535 
The components of net periodic benefit cost for our defined benefit pension plans are as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)202120202019
Domestic defined benefit pension plans:
Service cost$3 $3 $3 
Interest cost3 3 4 
Expected return on plan assets(7)(7)(8)
Amortization of net actuarial loss4 3 1 
Net periodic benefit cost$3 $2 $— 
International defined benefit pension plans:
Service cost$14 $13 $9 
Interest cost11 16 19 
Expected return on plan assets(14)(14)(27)
Amortization of net actuarial loss17 14 9 
Settlement— — 9 
Net periodic benefit cost$28 $29 $19 
Total net periodic benefit cost$31 $31 $19 
The components of net periodic benefit cost other than the service cost component are included in the line item "Other non-operating (expense) income, net" in the Consolidated Income Statements.
Other changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive loss, as they pertain to our defined benefit pension plans are as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)202120202019
Domestic defined benefit pension plans:
Net (gain) loss$— $3 $6 
Amortization of net actuarial loss(4)(3)(1)
(Gains) losses recognized in other comprehensive loss$(4)$— $5 
International defined benefit pension plans:
Net (gain) loss$(51)$74 $79 
Amortization of net actuarial loss(17)(14)(9)
Settlement— — (9)
Foreign Exchange (11)19 3 
(Gains) losses recognized in other comprehensive loss$(79)$79 $64 
Total (gains) losses recognized in other comprehensive loss$(83)$79 $69 
Total (gains) losses recognized in comprehensive income $(52)$110 $88 
The components of net periodic benefit cost for other post-retirement employee benefit plans are as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)202120202019
Interest cost1 2 2 
Amortization of prior service credit(2)(3)(4)
Amortization of net actuarial loss2 2 2 
Net periodic benefit cost$1 $1 $— 
Other changes in benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive loss, as they pertain to other post-retirement employee benefit plans are as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)202120202019
Net loss (gain) $— $1 $(2)
Prior service credit— (5)— 
Amortization of prior service credit3 3 4 
Amortization of net actuarial loss(2)(2)(2)
Losses (gains) recognized in other comprehensive loss$1 $(3)$— 
Total losses (gains) recognized in comprehensive income $2 $(2)$— 
Assumptions
The following table provides the weighted-average assumptions used to determine projected benefit obligations and net periodic benefit cost, as they pertain to our pension plans.
 202120202019
 U.S.Int’lU.S.Int’lU.S.Int’l
Benefit Obligation Assumptions
Discount rate3.00 %1.55 %2.50 %1.06 %3.25 %1.80 %
Rate of future compensation increaseNM2.84 %NM2.79 %NM2.94 %
Net Periodic Benefit Cost Assumptions
Discount rate2.50 %1.06 %3.25 %1.80 %4.50 %2.60 %
Expected long-term return on plan assets6.50 %2.60 %6.50 %2.82 %7.75 %6.96 %
Rate of future compensation increaseNM2.79 %NM2.94 %NM2.92 %
NM    Not meaningful. The pension benefits for future service for all the U.S. pension plans are based on years of service and not impacted by future compensation increases.
Management develops each assumption using relevant company experience in conjunction with market-related data for each individual country in which plans exist. Assumptions are reviewed annually and adjusted as necessary.
The decrease in the projected benefit obligations of our qualified defined benefit pension plans in 2021 was primarily due to changes in assumptions, predominantly driven by increases in discount rate in 2021 as compared to 2020. The increase in the projected benefit obligations of defined benefit pension plans in 2020 was primarily due to a decrease in the discount rate in 2020 as compared to 2019.
The expected long-term rate of return on assets reflects the expected returns for each major asset class in which the plans hold investments, the weight of each asset class in the target mix, the correlations among asset classes and their expected volatilities. The assets of the pension plans are held by a number of independent trustees, managed by several investment institutions and are accounted for separately in the Company’s pension funds.
Our expected return on plan assets is estimated by evaluating both historical returns and estimates of future returns. Specifically, we analyze the plans’ actual historical annual return on assets, net of fees, over the past 15, 20 and 25 years; we estimate future returns based on independent estimates of asset class returns; and we evaluate historical broad market returns over long-term timeframes based on our asset allocation range. For the U.S. Master Trust which has existed since 2011, historical returns were estimated using a constructed portfolio that reflects the Company’s strategic asset allocation and the historical compound geometric returns of each asset class for the longest time period available. Based on this approach, the weighted average expected long-term rate of return for all of our plan assets to be used in determining net periodic benefit costs for 2022 is estimated at 3.22%.
The table below provides the weighted average actual rate of return generated on all of our plan assets during each of the years presented as compared to the weighted average expected long-term rates of return utilized in calculating the net periodic benefit costs.
202120202019
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets3.24 %3.46 %7.09 %
Actual rate of return on plan assets1.66 %14.06 %12.59 %
Investment Policy
The investment strategy for managing worldwide post-retirement benefit plan assets is to seek an optimal rate of return relative to an appropriate level of risk for each plan. Investment strategies vary by plan, depending on the specific characteristics of the plan, such as plan size and design, funded status, liability profile and legal requirements. In general, the plans are managed closely to their strategic allocations.
During 2019, the Company updated its investment policy for the Xylem U.K. Pension Plan (the "U.K. Plan"), its largest defined benefit plan in the U.K., to prepare for a full buy-out as discussed above.
The following table provides the actual asset allocations of plan assets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the related asset target allocation ranges by asset category:
20212020Target
Allocation
Ranges
Equity securities23.0 %20.8 %
15-60%
Fixed income21.9 %22.9 %
25-50%
Hedge funds— %0.1 %
0-25%
Private equity— %— %
0-15%
Cash, insurance contracts and other55.1 %56.2 %
0-60%
Fair Value of Plan Assets
In measuring plan assets at fair value, the fair value hierarchy is applied which categorizes and prioritizes the inputs used to estimate fair value into three levels. See Note 1 "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" for further detail on fair value hierarchy.    
In certain instances, fair value is estimated using quoted market prices obtained from external pricing services. In obtaining such data from the pricing service, we have evaluated the methodologies used to develop the estimate of fair value in order to assess whether such valuations are representative of fair value, including NAV.
The following is a description of the valuation methodologies and inputs used to measure fair value for major categories of investments.
•Equity securities — Equities (including common and preferred shares, domestic listed and foreign listed and closed end mutual funds) are generally valued at the closing price reported on the major market on which the individual securities are traded at the measurement date. Equity securities and mutual funds held by the Company that are publicly traded in active markets are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. Those equities that are held in proprietary funds pooled with other investor accounts and collective trust funds measured at fair value using the NAV per share practical expedient are not classified in the fair value hierarchy.
•Fixed income — Government securities are generally valued using quoted prices of securities with similar characteristics. Corporate bonds are generally valued by using pricing models, quoted prices of securities with similar characteristics or broker quotes and are classified in Level 2. Fixed income securities held in proprietary funds pooled with other investor accounts and collective trust funds measured at fair value using the NAV per share practical expedient are not classified in the fair value hierarchy. Hedging instruments are collateralized daily with either cash or government bonds, have daily liquidity and pricing based on observable inputs from over-the-counter markets, and are classified as Level 2.
•Insurance contracts and other — Primarily comprised of insurance contracts held by foreign plans. Insurance contracts are valued on an insurer pricing basis calculated at purchase price adjusted for changes in discount rates and other actuarial assumptions or contract value, which approximates fair value. Insurance contracts are generally classified as Level 3.
•Cash — Cash and cash equivalents are held in accounts with brokers or custodians for liquidity and investment collateral and are classified as Level 1.
The following table provides the fair value of plan assets held by our pension benefit plans by asset class:
 20212020
(in millions)Level 1Level 2Level 3NAV Practical ExpedientTotalLevel 1Level 2Level 3NAV Practical ExpedientTotal
Equity securities
Global stock funds/securities$43 $71 $— $14 $128 $38 $66 $— $14 $118 
Diversified growth and income funds— — — 28 28 — — — 26 26 
Fixed income
Corporate bonds1 92 — 7 100 1 97 — 7 105 
Government bonds— 17 — 27 44 — 19 — 28 47 
Hedging instruments— 5 — — 5 — 6 — — 6 
Hedge funds— — — — — — — — 1 1 
Insurance contracts and other— — 368 — 368 — — 384 — 384 
Cash & cash equivalents6 — — — 6 4 — — — 4 
Total plan assets subject to leveling$50 $185 $368 $76 $679 $43 $188 $384 $76 $691 

The following table presents a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of fair value measurement within our pension plans using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3):

(in millions)
Insurance Contracts and Other
Balance, December 31, 2019$13 
Purchases, sales, settlements, net314 
Actual return on plan assets$44 
Currency impact13 
Balance, December 31, 2020384 
Purchases, sales, settlements, net(8)
Actual return on plan assets(6)
Currency impact(2)
Balance, December 31, 2021$368 
Contributions and Estimated Future Benefit Payments
Funding requirements under governmental regulations are a significant consideration in making contributions to our post-retirement plans. We made contributions of $29 million and $27 million to our pension and post-retirement defined benefit plans during 2021 and 2020, respectively. We currently anticipate making contributions to our pension and post-retirement defined benefit plans in the range of $19 million to $27 million during 2022, of which approximately $6 million is expected to be made in the first quarter.
The following benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid as follows:
(in millions)PensionOther Benefits
2022$39 $3 
202339 3 
202440 3 
202541 3 
202642 3 
Years 2026 - 2030218 12