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Employee Retirement Plans and Postretirement Benefits
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee Retirement Plans and Postretirement Benefits Employee Retirement Plans and Postretirement Benefits
We maintain retirement plans for the majority of our employees. Depending on the location and benefit program, we provide either defined benefit pension or defined contribution plans to our employees. Each plan is managed locally and in accordance with respective local laws and regulations. We have defined benefit pension plans in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Additionally, we offer OPEB plans to a portion of our Canadian, U.S. and Central European employees which are unfunded plans. Our equity method investments, BRI and BDL, maintain defined benefit, defined contribution and postretirement benefit plans as well; however, those plans are excluded from this disclosure as BRI and BDL are not consolidated entities.
Further, in the U.S., we participate in and make contributions to multi-employer pension plans. Contributions to multi-employer pension plans were $3.7 million, $4.1 million and $3.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Additionally, the U.S. postretirement health plan qualifies for the federal subsidy under the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (“the Act”) because the prescription drug benefits provided under our postretirement health plan for Medicare eligible retirees generally require lower premiums from covered retirees and have lower co-payments and deductibles than the benefits provided in Medicare Part D and, accordingly, are actuarially equivalent to or better than the benefits provided under the Act. The benefits paid, including prescription drugs, were $31.1 million, $31.2 million and $33.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. There were no subsidies received for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022.
Current Year Annuity Contract Purchases
On September 26, 2024, we purchased annuity contracts for two of our Canadian pension plans which transferred approximately $344 million of pension plan liabilities, along with the associated administration of benefits, to an insurance company using the plan's respective pension plan assets. These transactions had no impact on the amount, timing or form of the retirement benefit payments to the affected retirees and beneficiaries. As a result of the transaction, we reduced the respective pension plan liabilities and assets and remeasured any remaining pension plan liabilities and assets using updated actuarial assumptions. We elected the practical expedient to perform the remeasurement as of the nearest calendar month-end date, which was September 30, 2024. A total settlement loss of $34.0 million was recorded to other pension and postretirement benefit (costs), net in the consolidated statements of operations during the third quarter of 2024. See the impacts of the pension plan remeasurement and settlement on AOCI in Note 15, "Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)".
Net Periodic Pension and OPEB (Benefit) Cost
For the years ended
 December 31, 2024December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
 PensionOPEBConsolidatedPensionOPEBConsolidatedPensionOPEBConsolidated
 (In millions)
Service cost   
Service cost$0.1 $3.6 $3.7 $0.9 $3.3 $4.2 $1.3 $5.5 $6.8 
Other pension and postretirement (benefit) cost, net
Interest cost129.7 20.8 150.5 140.4 22.5 162.9 103.9 16.1 120.0 
Expected return on plan assets, net of expenses(169.8)— (169.8)(157.8)— (157.8)(154.2)— (154.2)
Amortization of prior service (benefit) cost0.3 (0.7)(0.4)0.3 (0.7)(0.4)0.3 (0.7)(0.4)
Amortization of net actuarial (gain) loss18.1 (27.4)(9.3)17.1 (31.7)(14.6)5.6 (10.2)(4.6)
Curtailment, settlement or special termination benefit (gain) loss(1)
34.0 — 34.0 — — — 2.9 — 2.9 
Expected participant contributions— — — (0.3)— (0.3)(0.3)— (0.3)
Total other pension and postretirement (benefit) cost, net12.3 (7.3)5.0 (0.3)(9.9)(10.2)(41.8)5.2 (36.6)
Net periodic pension and OPEB (benefit) cost$12.4 $(3.7)$8.7 $0.6 $(6.6)$(6.0)$(40.5)$10.7 $(29.8)
(1)The pension settlement loss recognized for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $34.0 million which was recorded as a result of the purchase of annuity contracts for two of our Canadian pension plans.
The pension settlement charge recognized for the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily consisted of a settlement loss of $8.0 million that was recorded as a result of the annuity purchase for a certain Canadian pension plan, partially offset by a settlement gain of $5.3 million that was recorded as a result of the annuity purchase for a portion of our U.S. qualified pension plan.
Obligations and Changes in Funded Status
For the year ended December 31, 2024For the year ended December 31, 2023
PensionOPEBTotalPensionOPEBTotal
(In millions)
Change in benefit obligation
Prior year benefit obligation$3,018.1 $470.6 $3,488.7 $2,978.0 $478.3 $3,456.3 
Service cost, net of expected employee contributions0.1 3.6 3.7 0.6 3.3 3.9 
Interest cost129.7 20.8 150.5 140.4 22.5 162.9 
Actual employee contributions— — — 0.3 — 0.3 
Actuarial (gain) loss(182.5)(18.0)(200.5)38.0 1.3 39.3 
Plan amendments— (10.1)(10.1)— — — 
Benefits paid(215.8)(36.9)(252.7)(226.2)(37.0)(263.2)
Curtailment, settlement and special termination(344.0)— (344.0)— — — 
Foreign currency exchange rate change(45.1)(7.0)(52.1)87.0 2.2 89.2 
Benefit obligation at end of year$2,360.5 $423.0 $2,783.5 $3,018.1 $470.6 $3,488.7 
Change in plan assets
Prior year fair value of assets$3,396.9 $— $3,396.9 $3,336.8 $— $3,336.8 
Actual return on plan assets(54.4)— (54.4)188.7 — 188.7 
Employer contributions(4.8)36.9 32.1 (1.7)37.0 35.3 
Actual employee contributions— — — 0.3 — 0.3 
Curtailment, settlement and special termination(344.0)— (344.0)— — — 
Benefits and plan expenses paid(215.8)(36.9)(252.7)(226.2)(37.0)(263.2)
Foreign currency exchange rate change(50.5)— (50.5)99.0 — 99.0 
Fair value of plan assets at end of year$2,727.4 $— $2,727.4 $3,396.9 $— $3,396.9 
Funded status$366.9 $(423.0)$(56.1)$378.8 $(470.6)$(91.8)
Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets
Other non-current assets$401.8 $— $401.8 $416.9 $— $416.9 
Accounts payable and other current liabilities(3.7)(37.5)(41.2)(3.6)(39.3)(42.9)
Pension and postretirement benefits(31.2)(385.5)(416.7)(34.5)(431.3)(465.8)
Net amounts recognized$366.9 $(423.0)$(56.1)$378.8 $(470.6)$(91.8)
The accumulated benefit obligation for our defined benefit pension plans were approximately $2.4 billion and $3.0 billion as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.
As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, certain defined benefit pension plans in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. were overfunded as a result of our ongoing de-risking strategy. Information for our defined benefit pension plans that had aggregate accumulated benefit obligations and projected benefit obligations in excess of plan assets was as follows:
As of
December 31, 2024December 31, 2023
(In millions)
Accumulated benefit obligation$34.9 $38.1 
Projected benefit obligation$34.9 $38.1 
Fair value of plan assets$— $— 
Information for OPEB plans with an accumulated postretirement benefit obligation in excess of plan assets has been disclosed above in "Obligations and Changes in Funded Status" as all of our OPEB plans are unfunded.
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Amounts recognized in AOCI not yet recognized as components of net periodic pension and OPEB cost, pretax, were as follows:
As of December 31, 2024As of December 31, 2023
PensionOPEBTotalPensionOPEBTotal
(In millions)
Net actuarial (gain) loss$771.9 $(263.5)$508.4 $773.3 $(260.4)$512.9 
Net prior service (benefit) cost9.1 (11.1)(2.0)9.4 (1.7)7.7 
Total not yet recognized$781.0 $(274.6)$506.4 $782.7 $(262.1)$520.6 
Assumptions
Periodic pension and OPEB cost is actuarially calculated annually for each individual plan based on data available and assumptions made at the beginning of each year. Assumptions used in the calculation include the discount rate selected and disclosed at the end of the previous year as well as other assumptions detailed in the table below. The weighted-average rates used in determining the periodic pension and OPEB cost for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 were as follows:
 For the years ended
 December 31, 2024December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
 PensionOPEBPensionOPEBPensionOPEB
Weighted-average assumptions:    
Discount rate4.74%4.64%5.01%4.90%2.27%2.59%
Rate of compensation increase2.00%N/A2.00%N/A2.00%N/A
Expected return on plan assets5.47%N/A4.91%N/A3.11%N/A
Health care cost trend rateN/A
Ranging ratably from 6.75% in 2024 to 3.57% in 2040
N/A
Ranging ratably from 6.50% in 2023 to 3.57% in 2040
N/A
Ranging ratably from 6.00% in 2022 to 3.57% in 2040
Benefit obligations are actuarially calculated annually at the end of each year based on the assumptions detailed in the table below. Obligations under the OPEB plans are determined by the application of the terms of medical, dental, vision and life insurance plans, together with relevant actuarial assumptions and health care cost trend rates. The weighted-average rates used in determining the projected benefit obligation for defined pension plans and the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation for OPEB plans, as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, were as follows:
As of December 31, 2024As of December 31, 2023
PensionOPEBPensionOPEB
Weighted-average assumptions
Discount rate5.41%5.15%4.74%4.64%
Rate of compensation increase2.00%N/A2.00%N/A
Health care cost trend rateN/A
Ranging ratably from 7.00% in 2025 to 3.57% in 2040
N/A
Ranging ratably from 6.75% in 2024 to 3.57% in 2040
The change to the weighted-average discount rates used for our defined benefit pension plans and postretirement plans as of December 31, 2024, from December 31, 2023, was primarily due to an increase in interest rates in 2024, particularly for our U.S. and U.K. plans.
Investment Strategy
The obligations of our defined benefit pension plans in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. are supported by assets held in trusts for the payment of future benefits. The business segments are obligated to adequately fund these asset trusts. The underlying investments within our defined benefit pension plans include cash and short-term instruments, debt securities, investment funds and other investments. Investment allocations reflect the customized strategies of the respective plans.
The plans use liability driven investment strategies in managing defined pension benefits. For all defined benefit pension plan assets, the plans have the following primary investment objectives:
(1)optimize the long-term return on plan assets at an acceptable level of risk and manage projected future cash contributions;
(2)maintain a broad diversification across asset classes and among investment managers; and
(3)manage the risk level of the plans' assets in relation to the plans' liabilities.
Each plan's respective allocation targets promote optimal expected return and volatility characteristics given a focus on a long-term time horizon for fulfilling the plans' obligations. All assets are managed by external investment managers with an intent to either match or outperform their benchmark. The plans use different asset managers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada and each plan's respective asset allocation could be impacted by a change in asset managers.
Our investment strategies for our defined benefit pension plans also consider the funded status for each plan. For defined benefit pension plans that are highly funded, assets are invested primarily in fixed income holdings that have a similar duration to the associated liabilities. For plans with lower funding levels, the fixed income component is managed in a similar manner to the highly funded plans. In addition to this liability-matching fixed income allocation, these plans also contain exposure to return generating assets including: equities, real estate, debt and other investments held with the goal of producing higher returns, which may also have a higher risk profile. These investments are diversified by investing globally with limitations placed on issuer concentration.
Both our Canadian and U.K. plans hedge a portion of the foreign exchange exposure between plan assets that are not denominated in the local plan currency and the local currency as the Canadian and U.K. pension liabilities will be settled in CAD and GBP, respectively.
Target Allocations
The following compares target asset allocation percentages with actual asset allocations on a weighted-average asset basis as of December 31, 2024.
 Target
allocations		Actual
allocations
Equities6.1%6.4%
Fixed income75.4%72.7%
Real estate4.1%4.1%
Annuities and longevity swap13.7%13.7%
Other0.7%3.1%
Significant Concentration Risks
We periodically evaluate our defined benefit pension plan assets for concentration risks. As of December 31, 2024, we did not have any individual underlying asset position that composed a significant concentration of each plan's overall assets. However, we currently have significant plan assets invested in U.K., U.S. and Canadian government fixed income holdings. A provisional credit rating downgrade for any of these governments could negatively impact the asset values.
Further, as our benefit plans maintain exposure to non-government investments, a significant system-wide increase in credit spreads would also negatively impact the plan asset values. In general, equity and fixed income risks have been mitigated by company-specific concentration limits and by utilizing multiple equity managers. We do have significant amounts of assets invested with individual fixed income and hedge fund managers, therefore, the plans use outside investment consultants to aid in the oversight of these managers and fund performance.
Valuation Techniques
We use a variety of industry accepted valuation techniques to value our plan assets. The techniques vary depending upon instrument type. Whenever possible, we prioritize the use of observable market data in our valuation processes. We use market, income and cost approaches to value our plan assets as of period end. See Note 1, "Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" for additional information on our fair value methodologies and accounting policies. We have not changed our fair value techniques used to value plan assets this year.
Major Categories of Plan Assets
As of December 31, 2024, our major categories of plan assets included the following:
•Cash and short-term instruments—Includes cash, trades awaiting settlement, bank deposits, short-term bills and short-term notes. Our "trades awaiting settlement" category includes payables and receivables associated with asset purchases and sales that are awaiting final cash settlement as of year end due to the use of trade date accounting for our pension plans assets. These payables normally settle within a few business days of the purchase or sale of the respective asset. We include these items in Level 1 of this hierarchy, as the values are derived from quoted prices in active markets. Short-term instruments are included in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy as these are highly liquid instruments that are valued using observable inputs, but their asset values are not publicly quoted.
•Debt securities—Includes various government and corporate fixed income securities, interest and inflation-linked assets such as bonds and swaps, collateralized securities and other debt securities. The majority of the plans' fixed income assets trade on "over the counter" exchanges, which provides observable inputs that are the primary data used to determine each individual investment's fair value. We also use independent pricing vendors, as well as matrix pricing techniques. Matrix pricing uses observable data from other similar investments as the primary input to determine the individual security's fair value. Government and corporate fixed income securities are generally classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy as they are valued using observable inputs. Assets included in our collateralized securities include mortgage backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations, which are considered Level 3 due to the use of the significant unobservable inputs in deriving these assets' fair values.
•Annuities and longevity swap—Includes assets to mitigate risks of certain plans including buy-in annuities and longevity swap insurance contracts. Non-participating annuity buy-in insurance policies are purchased to mitigate volatility in cash flows associated with a portion of covered plan members. The fair value of non-participating contracts fluctuate based on changes in the obligation associated with covered plan members. The longevity swap insurance contract alleviates risk from fluctuations in estimated life expectancy of covered participants. The fair value of the longevity swap insurance contract is calculated by taking the present value of the expected cash flows from the floating leg on a prevailing market best estimate of mortality, including market views of fees, less the present value of the fixed leg payments that the plan is required to make under the contract including the contractual fees. The prevailing market best estimate of mortality is determined based on the effect of actual plan mortality experience of covered participants, a revised view on future improvements in mortality rates and a view on how risk fees have changed for this type of contract since inception. These values are considered Level 3 due to the use of the significant unobservable inputs used in deriving the asset's fair value.
•Other—Includes repurchase agreements, recoverable taxes for taxes paid and awaiting reclaim due to the tax exempt nature of the pension plan and private equity. Repurchase agreements are agreements where our plan has created an asset exposure using borrowed assets, creating a repurchase agreement liability, to facilitate the trade. The assets associated with the repurchase agreement are included in the other category in the fair value hierarchy, and the corresponding repurchase agreement liability is classified as Level 1 in the hierarchy, as the liability is valued using quoted prices in active markets. When determining the presentation of our target and asset allocations for repurchase agreements, we are viewing the asset type, as opposed to the investment vehicle, and accordingly include the associated assets within fixed income, specifically interest and inflation linked assets. We include recoverable tax items in Level 1 of this hierarchy, as these are cash receivables and the values are derived from quoted prices in active markets. Private equity is included in Level 3 as the values are based upon the use of unobservable inputs.
•NAV per share practical expedient—Includes our debt funds, equity funds, hedge funds, real estate fund holdings and private equity funds. The market values for these funds are based on the net asset values multiplied by the number of shares owned.
Fair Value Hierarchy
The following presents our fair value hierarchy for our defined benefit pension plan assets excluding investments using the NAV per share practical expedient (in millions):
  Fair value measurements as of December 31, 2024
 
Total as of
December 31, 2024
Quoted prices
in active
markets
(Level 1)		Significant
observable
inputs
(Level 2)		Significant
unobservable
inputs
(Level 3)
Cash and cash equivalents    
Cash$42.6 $42.6 $— $— 
Bank deposits, short-term bills and notes40.5 — 40.5 — 
Debt
Government debt securities290.6 — 290.6 — 
Interest and inflation linked assets415.0 — 402.7 12.3 
Annuities and longevity swap
Buy-in annuities and longevity swap373.6 — — 373.6 
Other
Repurchase agreements(244.2)(244.2)— — 
Recoverable taxes0.1 0.1 — — 
Private equity5.7 — — 5.7 
Total fair value of investments excluding NAV per share practical expedient$923.9 $(201.5)$733.8 $391.6 
The following presents our total fair value of plan assets including the NAV per share practical expedient for our defined benefit pension plan assets:
Total as of
December 31, 2024
(In millions)
Fair value of investments excluding NAV per share practical expedient$923.9 
Fair value of investments using NAV per share practical expedient
Debt funds1,266.2 
Equity funds175.7 
Real estate funds82.3 
Private equity funds28.8 
Hedge funds250.5 
Total fair value of plan assets$2,727.4 
The following presents our fair value hierarchy for our defined benefit pension plan assets excluding investments using the NAV per share practical expedient (in millions):
  Fair value measurements as of December 31, 2023
 
Total as of
December 31, 2023
Quoted prices
in active
markets
(Level 1)		Significant
observable
inputs
(Level 2)		Significant
unobservable
inputs
(Level 3)
Cash and cash equivalents    
Cash$39.5 $39.5 $— $— 
Bank deposits, short-term bills and notes26.4 — 26.4 — 
Debt
Government debt securities452.3 — 452.3 — 
Corporate debt securities119.3 — 119.3 — 
Interest and inflation linked assets629.9 — 616.0 13.9 
Collateralized debt securities0.3 — — 0.3 
Annuities and longevity swap
Buy-in annuities and longevity swap449.8 — — 449.8 
Other
Repurchase agreements(285.8)(285.8)— — 
Recoverable taxes0.2 0.2 — — 
Private equity10.6 — — 10.6 
Total fair value of investments excluding NAV per share practical expedient$1,442.5 $(246.1)$1,214.0 $474.6 
The following presents our fair value hierarchy including the NAV per share practical expedient for our defined benefit pension plan assets:
Total as of
December 31, 2023
(In millions)
Fair value of investments excluding NAV per share practical expedient$1,442.5 
Fair value of investments using NAV per share practical expedient
Debt funds1,263.9 
Equity funds260.7 
Real estate funds126.3 
Private equity funds37.8 
Hedge funds265.7 
Total fair value of plan assets$3,396.9 
Fair Value: Level Three Rollforward
The following presents our Level 3 Rollforward for our defined pension plan assets excluding investments using the NAV per share practical expedient.
Amount
(In millions)
Balance as of December 31, 2022$487.0 
Total gain or loss (realized/unrealized) 
Realized gain (loss)— 
Unrealized gain (loss) included in AOCI(34.2)
Purchases, issuances, settlements(2.7)
Foreign exchange translation (loss) gain24.5 
Balance as of December 31, 2023$474.6 
Total gain or loss (realized/unrealized) 
Realized gain (loss)1.2 
Unrealized gain (loss) included in AOCI(70.8)
Purchases, issuances, settlements(5.4)
Foreign exchange translation (loss) gain(8.0)
Balance as of December 31, 2024$391.6 
Expected Cash Flows
Defined benefit pension plan contributions in future years will vary based on a number of factors, including actual plan asset returns and interest rates. We fund pension plans to meet the requirements set forth in applicable employee benefits laws. We took and continue to take steps to reduce our exposure to our pension obligations. Such steps include the closure of the U.K. and U.S. pension plans to future earnings of service credit, benefit modifications in certain Canada plans and the entering into of buy-in and buy-out contracts for certain plans. We may also voluntarily increase funding levels to meet financial goals. Our U.K. pension plan is subject to a statutory valuation for funding purposes every three years. The most recent valuation as of June 30, 2022, indicated that the plan does not have a funding deficit relative to the plan's statutory funding objective, and therefore, no MCBC contributions are currently required.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, we expect to make contributions to our defined benefit pension plans of approximately $4 million and benefit payments under our OPEB plans of approximately $38 million based on foreign exchange rates as of December 31, 2024. Additionally, we anticipate utilizing approximately $9 million of surplus from certain Canadian defined benefit pension plans to fund employer contributions to certain Canadian defined contribution plans. Plan funding strategies are influenced by employee benefits, tax laws and plan governance documents.
Expected future benefit payments for defined benefit pension and OPEB plans for the next ten years, based on foreign exchange rates as of December 31, 2024, are as follows:
Expected benefit paymentsPensionOPEB
 (In millions)
2025$206.9 $37.6 
2026194.6 37.4 
2027194.8 37.3 
2028196.0 37.2 
2029197.6 36.8 
2030-20341,008.2 178.5 
Defined Contribution Plans
We offer defined contribution plans for the majority of our U.S., Canadian and U.K. employees. The investment strategy for defined contribution plans are determined by each individual participant from the options we have made available as the plan sponsor. U.S. non-union employees are eligible to participate in qualified defined contribution plans which provide for employer contributions ranging from 5% to 11% of eligible compensation (certain employees were also eligible for additional employer contributions). In addition, U.S. union employees are eligible to participate in a qualified defined contribution plan which provides for employer contributions based on factors associated with various collective bargaining agreements. The employer contributions to the U.K. plans can range up to 10% of employee compensation and in Canada plans range from 4% to 10%. Both employee and employer contributions are made in cash in accordance with participant investment elections.
We recognized costs associated with defined contribution plans of $89.6 million, $76.8 million and $73.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
In addition, we have other deferred compensation and nonqualified defined contribution plans. We have voluntarily funded these liabilities through rabbi trusts. These assets are invested in publicly traded mutual funds whose performance is expected to closely match changes in the plan liabilities. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the plan liabilities were equal to the plan assets and were included in other liabilities and other assets on our consolidated balance sheets, respectively.