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Retirement benefits (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 2020
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Schedule of defined benefit plans using fair value hierarchy
The following tables present classes of defined benefit pension plan assets by fair value hierarchy (in millions):
 August 31, 2020Level 1Level 2Level 3
Equity securities:
    
Equity securities1
$1,505 $— $1,505 $— 
Debt securities:    
Fixed interest government bonds2
515 111 404 — 
Index linked government bonds2
4,168 2,936 1,232 — 
Corporate bonds3
2,730 1 2,729 — 
Real estate:  
Real estate4
492 — — 492 
Other:
    
Other investments, net5
204 152 (347)399 
Total$9,614 $3,200 $5,523 $891 

 August 31, 2019Level 1Level 2Level 3
Equity securities:
    
Equity securities1
$1,006 $— $1,005 $— 
Debt securities:    
Fixed interest government bonds2
489 148 341 — 
Index linked government bonds2
3,861 3,824 37 — 
Corporate bonds3
2,390 1 2,389 — 
Real estate:    
Real estate4
471 — — 471 
Other:
    
Other investments, net5
914 63 516 335 
Total$9,131 $4,036 $4,288 $806 
1Equity securities, which mainly comprise of investments in commingled funds, are valued based on quoted prices and are primarily exchange-traded. Securities for which official close or last trade pricing on an active exchange is available are classified as Level 1 investments. If closing prices are not available, or the investments are in a commingled fund, securities are valued at the last quoted bid price and typically are categorized as Level 2 investments.
2Debt securities: government bonds comprise of fixed interest and index linked bonds issued by central governments and are valued based on quotes received from independent pricing services or from dealers who make markets in such securities. Pricing services utilize pricing which considers readily available inputs such as the yield or price of bonds of comparable quality, coupon, maturity and type, as well as dealer-supplied prices.
3Debt securities: corporate bonds comprise bonds issued by corporations in both segregated and commingled funds
and are valued using recently executed transactions, or quoted market prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, or for identical assets and liabilities in markets that are not active. If there have been no market transactions in a particular fixed income security, its fair value is calculated by pricing models that benchmark the security against other securities with actual market prices.
4Real estate comprise of investments in certain property funds which are valued based on the underlying properties. These properties are valued using a number of standard industry techniques such as cost, discounted cash flows, independent appraisals and market based comparable data. Real estate investments are categorized as Level 3 investments. Changes in Level 3 investments during fiscal 2020 were driven by actual return on plan assets still held at August 31, 2020 and purchases during the year.
5Other investments mainly comprise of net receivable (payable) amounts for unsettled transactions, cash and cash equivalents, derivatives and direct private placements. Cash is categorized as a Level 1 investment and cash in commingled funds is categorized as Level 2 investments. Amounts receivable (payable) are categorized as level 2 investments. Cash equivalents are valued using observable yield curves, discounting and interest rates and are categorized as Level 2 investments. Derivatives which are exchange-traded and for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last reported sale price or official closing price as reported by an independent pricing service on the primary market, or exchange on which they are traded, and are categorized as Level 1 investments. Over-the-counter derivatives typically are valued by independent pricing services and are categorized as Level 2 investments. Direct private placements are typically bonds valued by reference to comparable bonds and are categorized as Level 3 investments. Changes in Level 3 investments during fiscal 2020 were primarily driven by purchases during the year.
Components of net periodic benefit costs
Components of net periodic pension costs for the defined benefit pension plans (in millions):
 Boots and other pension plans
 202020192018
Service costs$5 $4 $5 
Interest costs143 196 193 
Expected returns on plan assets/other(285)(246)(209)
Total net periodic pension (income) cost$(137)$(46)$(11)
Accumulated and projected benefit obligations
Change in benefit obligations for the defined benefit pension plans (in millions):
 20202019
Benefit obligation at beginning of year$8,834 $8,293 
Service costs5 4 
Interest costs143 196 
Amendments/other— 22 
Net actuarial loss495 1,212 
Benefits paid(333)(363)
Currency translation adjustments805 (530)
Benefit obligation at end of year$9,949 $8,834 
Changes in fair value of plan assets
Change in plan assets for the defined benefit pension plans (in millions):
 20202019
Plan assets at fair value at beginning of year$9,131 $8,676 
Employer contributions38 38 
Benefits paid(333)(363)
Return on assets/other(31)1,333 
Currency translation adjustments810 (552)
Plan assets at fair value at end of year$9,614 $9,131 
Amounts recognized in balance sheet
Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets (in millions):
 20202019
Other non-current assets$— $486 
Accrued expenses and other liabilities(8)(6)
Other non-current liabilities(327)(183)
Net asset (liability) recognized at end of year$(335)$297 
Pre-tax amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive (income) loss
Cumulative pre-tax amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive (income) loss (in millions):
 20202019
Net actuarial loss$858 $92 
Prior service cost(1)24 
Total $857 $116 
Amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to be recognized over next fiscal year
The projected benefit obligation, accumulated benefit obligation and fair value of plan assets for all pension plans, including accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets, at August 31 were as follows (in millions):
 20202019
Projected benefit obligation$9,949 $8,834 
Accumulated benefit obligation9,937 8,823 
Fair value of plan assets9,614 9,131 
Estimated future benefit payments
Estimated future benefit payments for the next 10 years from defined benefit pension plans to participants are as follows (in millions):
 Estimated future benefit payments
2021$289 
2022282 
2023293 
2024302 
2025318 
2026-20301,774 
Schedule of assumptions used
The assumptions used in accounting for the defined benefit pension plans were as follows:
 20202019
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations  
Discount rate1.63 %1.80 %
Rate of compensation increase3.10 %2.91 %
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost  
Discount rate1.58 %1.58 %
Expected long-term return on plan assets3.10 %3.10 %
Rate of compensation increase2.91 %2.68 %