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Retirement Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Retirement Plans
9.  Retirement Plans
We have funded noncontributory defined benefit pension plans for a significant portion of our employees.  In addition, we have an unfunded supplemental pension plan covering certain employees, which provides incremental payments that would have been payable from our principal pension plans, were it not for limitations imposed by income tax regulations.  The plans provide defined benefits based on years of service and final average salary to our U.S. employees hired prior to January 1, 2017 and to our participants in the United Kingdom (U.K.) pension plan.  The U.S. employees hired on or after January 1, 2017 participate under a cash accumulation formula and receive credits to a notional account based on a percentage of pensionable wages. Interest accrues on the balance in the notional account at a rate determined in accordance with plan provisions. Additionally, we maintain an unfunded post-retirement medical plan that provides health benefits to certain U.S. qualified retirees from ages 55 through 65.  The measurement date for all retirement plans is December 31.
The following table summarizes the benefit obligations, the fair value of plan assets, and the funded status of our pension and postretirement medical plans:
Funded
Pension Plans		Unfunded
Pension Plan		Postretirement
Medical Plan
 202420232024202320242023
 (In millions)
Change in Benefit Obligation      
Balance at January 1, $1,760 $1,802 $222 $212 $53 $52 
Service cost 29 26 11 9 3 3 
Interest cost 81 88 10 9 3 2 
Actuarial (gain) loss (a)(93)44 42 7 1 1 
Plan settlements— (143)— — — — 
Benefit payments(88)(77)(6)(15)(4)(5)
Plan amendments35 — — — — — 
Foreign currency exchange rate changes (5)20 — — — — 
Balance at December 31, (b)$1,719 $1,760 $279 $222 $56 $53 
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets
Balance at January 1,$2,445 $2,450 $— $— $— $— 
Actual return on plan assets18 186 — — — — 
Employer contributions3 1 6 15 4 5 
Plan settlements— (143)— — — — 
Benefit payments(88)(77)(6)(15)(4)(5)
Foreign currency exchange rate changes(4)28 — — — — 
Balance at December 31,$2,374 $2,445 $— $— $— $— 
Funded Status (Plan assets greater (less) than benefit obligations) at December 31,$655 $685 $(279)$(222)$(56)$(53)
Unrecognized Net Actuarial (Gains) Losses$372 $332 $71 $30 $(23)$(25)
(a)In 2024, changes in discount rates resulted in actuarial gains of $191 million, changes in the retirement rate assumption resulted in actuarial gains of $59 million, changes in the withdrawal rate assumption resulted in actuarial losses of $70 million, changes in the salary scale assumption resulted in actuarial losses of $55 million, and updates to census data resulted in actuarial losses of $19 million. In addition, the use of annuity pricing to measure the benefit obligation of the U.K. pension plan resulted in actuarial losses of $26 million in 2024. Finally, changes in all other assumptions resulted in net actuarial losses of $30 million in 2024. In 2023, changes in discount rates resulted in actuarial losses of $56 million, updates to census data resulted in actuarial losses of $18 million, and the alignment of the benefit obligation to the amount of plan settlement payments resulted in actuarial gains of $20 million. Changes in all other assumptions resulted in net actuarial gains of $2 million in 2023.
(b)At December 31, 2024, the accumulated benefit obligation for the funded and unfunded defined benefit pension plans was $1,619 million and $182 million, respectively (2023: $1,684 million and $181 million, respectively).
  Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31 consisted of the following:
Funded
Pension Plans		Unfunded
Pension Plan		Postretirement
Medical Plan
 202420232024202320242023
 (In millions)
Noncurrent assets$655 $685 $— $— $— $— 
Current liabilities— — (15)(23)(4)(5)
Noncurrent liabilities— — (264)(199)(52)(48)
Post-retirement benefit assets (liabilities)$655 $685 $(279)$(222)$(56)$(53)
Accumulated other comprehensive (income) loss, pre-tax (a)$372 $332 $71 $30 $(23)$(25)
(a)The after‑tax deficit reflected in Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) was $208 million at December 31, 2024 (2023: $134 million deficit).
The net periodic benefit cost for funded and unfunded pension plans, and the postretirement medical plan, is as follows:
 Pension PlansPostretirement Medical Plan
 202420232022202420232022
 (In millions)
Service cost $40 $35 $44 $3 $3 $3 
Interest cost (a)91 97 69 3 2 1 
Expected return on plan assets (a)(155)(156)(196)— — — 
Amortization of unrecognized net actuarial losses (gains) (a)5 3 11 (1)(2)(1)
Prior service cost (a)35 — — — — — 
Settlement loss (a)— 17 2 — — — 
Net Periodic Benefit Cost (Income) (a)$16 $(4)$(70)$5 $3 $3 
(a)These other components of net periodic benefit cost (income) included in Other, net in the Statement of Consolidated Income was $(22) million in 2024 (2023: $(39) million; 2022: $(114) million).
In September 2024, the board of trustees for our U.K. pension plan purchased a bulk annuity policy from an insurer for $483 million covering all benefits payable under the plan. The bulk annuity policy is an asset of the plan. The plan retains responsibility for all liabilities associated with member and beneficiary benefits until such time a buy-out transaction is executed with the insurer. Concurrent with the purchase of the bulk annuity policy, the plan was amended to augment benefits for certain members and beneficiaries to equalize the minimum level of pension inflation protection. Due to the amendments, an interim remeasurement of the funded status was performed at September 30, 2024. The augmentation of benefits generated prior service cost of $35 million, which was recognized immediately in earnings as a component of net periodic benefit cost (income).
At December 31, 2024, the funded status of our U.K. pension plan before any applicable taxes was $78 million, representing the excess of the fair value of plan assets over the benefit obligation. Should a buy-out transaction be executed that settles the entirety of the plan’s benefit obligation, a settlement loss will be recorded to recognize all cumulative net actuarial losses within Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) associated with the plan. At December 31, 2024, cumulative net actuarial losses associated with the U.K. pension plan were $221 million (pre-tax).
In 2023, the Hess Corporation Employees’ Pension Plan paid lump sums to certain participants totaling $143 million which resulted in a settlement loss of $17 million to recognize net unamortized actuarial losses.
In 2022, the Hess Corporation Employees’ Pension Plan purchased a single premium annuity contract at a cost of $166 million using assets of the plan to settle and transfer certain of its obligations to a third party. This partial settlement resulted in a settlement loss of $13 million to recognize net unamortized actuarial losses.
In 2022, the HOVENSA Legacy Employees’ Pension Plan paid lump sums to certain participants totaling $20 million, and purchased a single premium annuity contract at a cost of $80 million, to settle the plan’s benefit obligation in connection with terminating the plan. The settlement transactions resulted in a settlement gain of $11 million to recognize net unamortized actuarial gains. The assets remaining after settlement of the plan’s projected benefit obligation of $15 million were transferred to the Hess Corporation Employees’ Pension Plan in December 2022.
In 2025, we forecast service cost for our pension and post-retirement medical plans to be approximately $50 million and other components of net periodic benefit cost to be approximately $35 million of income, which is comprised of estimated expected return on plan assets of approximately $150 million, interest cost of approximately $105 million, and amortization of unrecognized net actuarial losses of $10 million.
Assumptions:  The weighted average actuarial assumptions used to determine benefit obligations at December 31 and net periodic benefit cost for the three years ended December 31 for our funded and unfunded pension plans were as follows:
 202420232022
Benefit Obligations:   
Discount rate 5.4%4.8%5.0%
Rate of compensation increase 4.4%3.9%4.0%
Net Periodic Benefit Cost:
Discount rate
Service cost4.8%5.0%3.3%
Interest cost4.7%4.9%3.0%
Expected rate of return on plan assets 6.4%6.5%6.5%
Rate of compensation increase 3.9%4.0%3.8%
The actuarial assumptions used to determine benefit obligations at December 31 for the post-retirement medical plan were as follows:
 202420232022
Discount rate 5.5%4.7%4.9%
Initial health care trend rate 7.1%6.0%6.3%
Ultimate trend rate 4.0%4.0%4.0%
Year in which ultimate trend rate is reached 204920462046
The assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for each year were established at the end of each previous year. In 2024 and 2022, there was an interim remeasurement of the funded status of certain plans due to plan amendments or plan settlements which resulted in net periodic benefit cost being recalculated for the remainder of the year using assumptions as of the interim remeasurement dates. The assumptions disclosed in the preceding table used to determine net periodic benefit cost for 2024 and 2022 are a weighted average of the assumptions as of the end of the previous year and the interim remeasurement dates. Due to the timing of plan settlements in 2023, an interim remeasurement of the funded status was unnecessary in 2023.
The assumptions used to determine benefit obligations were established at each year end.  For the U.K. pension plan, the benefit obligation at December 31, 2024 was measured by adjusting the premium paid for the bulk annuity policy for interest cost and benefit payments through December 31, 2024, along with changes in annuity pricing through December 31, 2024. Discount rates for benefit obligations that are not measured using annuity pricing are developed based on a portfolio of high‑quality, fixed income debt instruments with maturities that approximate the expected payment of plan obligations.
The overall expected rate of return on plan assets is developed from the expected future returns for each asset category, weighted by the target allocation of assets to that asset category.  The future expected rate of return assumptions for individual asset categories are largely based on inputs from various investment experts regarding their future return expectations for particular asset categories. The expected rate of return on plan assets is applied to the fair value of plan assets to determine the expected return on plan assets component of net periodic benefit cost for the year.
Our investment strategy is to maximize long‑term returns at an acceptable level of risk through broad diversification of plan assets in a variety of asset classes.  Asset classes and target allocations are determined by our investment committee and include domestic and foreign equities, fixed income, and other investments, including hedge funds, real estate and private equity.  Investment managers are prohibited from investing in securities issued by us unless indirectly held as part of an index strategy.  The majority of plan assets are highly liquid, providing ample liquidity for benefit payment requirements.  The current target allocations, excluding the bulk annuity policy, are 25% equity securities, 50% fixed income securities (including cash and short‑term investment funds) and 25% to all other types of investments.  Asset allocations are rebalanced on a periodic basis throughout the year to bring assets to within an acceptable range of target levels.
Fair value:  The following tables provide the fair value of the financial assets of the funded pension plans at December 31, 2024 and 2023 in accordance with the fair value measurement hierarchy described in Note 1, Nature of Operations, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Accounting Policies.
 Level 1Level 2Level 3Net Asset
Value (c)		Total
 (In millions)
December 31, 2024     
Cash and Short-Term Investment Funds $47 $— $— $— $47 
Equities:
U.S. equities (domestic) 339 — — — 339 
International equities (non-U.S.) 38 — — 114 152 
Global equities (domestic and non-U.S.) — 5 — — 5 
Fixed Income:
Treasury and government related (a) — 353 — — 353 
Mortgage-backed securities (b) — 75 — 9 84 
Corporate — 439 — 3 442 
Other:
Private equity funds — — — 427 427 
Real estate funds — — — 97 97 
Bulk annuity policy— — 428 — 428 
Total investments$424 $872 $428 $650 $2,374 
December 31, 2023
Cash and Short-Term Investment Funds $27 $— $— $— $27 
Equities:
U.S. equities (domestic) 309 — — — 309 
International equities (non-U.S.) 52 — — 158 210 
Global equities (domestic and non-U.S.) — 6 — 55 61 
Fixed Income:
Treasury and government related (a) — 581 — — 581 
Mortgage-backed securities (b) — 98 — 12 110 
Corporate — 547 — 3 550 
Other:
Private equity funds — — — 414 414 
Real estate funds — — — 183 183 
Bulk annuity policy— — — — — 
Total investments$388 $1,232 $— $825 $2,445 
(a)Includes securities issued and guaranteed by U.S. and non‑U.S. governments, and securities issued by governmental agencies and municipalities.
(b)Comprised of U.S. residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities.
(c)Includes certain investments that have been valued using the net asset value (NAV) practical expedient, and therefore have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy.  The inclusion of such amounts in the above table is intended to aid reconciliation of investments categorized in the fair value hierarchy to total pension plan assets.  
The following describes the financial assets of the funded pension plans:
Cash and short‑term investment funds – Consists of cash on hand and short-term investment funds that provide for daily investments and redemptions which are classified as Level 1.
Equities – Consists of individually held U.S. and international equity securities.  This investment category also includes funds that consist primarily of U.S. and international equity securities.  Equity securities, which are individually held and are traded actively on exchanges, are classified as Level 1.  Certain funds, consisting primarily of equity securities, are classified as Level 2 if the NAV is determined and published daily, and is the basis for current transactions.  Commingled funds, consisting primarily of equity securities held in unitized trusts, are valued using the NAV per fund share.
Fixed income investments – Consists of individually held securities issued by the U.S. government, non-U.S. governments, governmental agencies, municipalities and corporations, and agency and non-agency mortgage-backed securities.  This investment category also includes funds that consist primarily of fixed income securities.  Individual fixed income securities are generally valued on the basis of evaluated prices from independent pricing services. Such prices are monitored by the trustee, which also serves as the independent third-party custodial firm responsible for safekeeping assets of the particular plan, and are classified as Level 2.  Certain funds, consisting primarily of fixed income securities, are classified as Level 2 if the NAV is determined and published daily, and is
the basis for current transactions.  Commingled funds, consisting primarily of fixed income securities, are valued using the NAV per fund share.
Other investments – Consists of commingled funds and limited partnership investments in hedge funds, private equity and real estate funds which are valued at the NAV per fund share. This investment category also includes the bulk annuity policy purchased by the trustees of the U.K. pension plan. The fair value of the bulk annuity policy at December 31, 2024 was measured by adjusting the premium paid of $483 million for interest cost and benefit payments through December 31, 2024 of $5 million and $6 million, respectively, and for changes in annuity pricing through December 31, 2024, and is classified as Level 3. Changes in annuity pricing through December 31, 2024 were determined by evaluating changes in interest rates for securities issued by the U.K. government with maturities that approximate the timing of the annuity payments, and by evaluating changes in inflation rates. Changes in annuity pricing resulted in an unrealized loss of $26 million. Foreign exchange losses recognized upon remeasurement of the bulk annuity contract to U.S. dollars were $28 million. Changes in the fair value of the bulk annuity policy are offset by changes in the benefit obligation and do not affect the funded status.
Contributions and estimated future benefit payments:  In 2025, we do not expect to make any contributions to our funded pension plans.
Estimated future benefit payments by the funded and unfunded pension plans, and the post-retirement medical plan, which reflect expected future service, are as follows (in millions):
2025$108 
2026160 
2027117 
2028120 
2029117 
Years 2030 to 2034648 
We also have defined contribution plans for certain eligible employees.  Employees may contribute a portion of their compensation to these plans and we match a portion of the employee contributions.  We recorded expense of $29 million in 2024 for contributions to these plans (2023: $24 million; 2022: $22 million).