Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

18. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Investment and Savings Plan

Substantially all U.S. employees of the Company are eligible to participate in The Hartford Investment and Savings Plan under which designated contributions may be invested in a variety of investments, including up to 10% in a fund consisting largely of common stock of The Hartford. The Company's contributions include a non-elective contribution of 2.0% of eligible

compensation and a dollar-for-dollar matching contribution of up to 6.0% of eligible compensation contributed by the employee each pay period. The Company also maintains a non-qualified savings plan, The Hartford Excess Savings Plan, with the dollar-for-dollar matching contributions of employee compensation in excess of the amount that can be contributed under the tax-qualified Investment and Savings Plan. An employee's eligible compensation includes overtime and bonuses but for the

Investment and Savings Plan and Excess Savings Plan combined, is limited to $1 annually. The total cost to The Hartford for these plans was approximately $156, $134 and $113 for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Additionally, The Hartford has established defined contribution pension plans for certain employees of the Company’s international subsidiaries. The cost to The Hartford for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 for these plans was immaterial.

Post Retirement Benefit Plans

Defined Benefit Pension Plan- The Company maintains The Hartford Retirement Plan for U.S. Employees, a U.S. qualified defined benefit pension plan (“Pension Plan”) that covers substantially all U.S. employees hired prior to January 1, 2013. The Company also maintains non-qualified pension plans to provide retirement benefits previously accrued that are in excess of Internal Revenue Code limitations.

The Pension Plan includes two benefit formulas, both of which are frozen: a final average pay formula (for which all accruals ceased as of December 31, 2008) and a cash balance formula for which benefit accruals ceased as of December 31, 2012, although interest will continue to accrue to existing cash balance formula account balances. Employees who were participants as of December 31, 2012 continue to earn vesting credit with respect to their frozen accrued benefits if they continue to work. The interest crediting rate on the cash balance plan is the greater of the average annual yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury Securities or 3.3%. The Hartford Excess Pension Plan II, the Company's non-qualified excess pension benefit plan for certain highly compensated employees, is also frozen.

Group Retiree Health Plan- The Company provides certain health care and life insurance benefits for eligible retired employees. The Company’s contribution for health care benefits will depend upon the retiree’s date of retirement and years of service. In addition, the plan has a defined dollar cap for certain retirees which limits average Company contributions. The Hartford has prefunded a portion of the health care obligations through a trust fund where such prefunding can be accomplished on a tax effective basis. Beginning January 1, 2017, for retirees 65 and older who were participating in the Retiree PPO Medical Plan, the Company funds the cost of medical and dental health care benefits through contributions to a Health Reimbursement Account and covered individuals can access a variety of insurance plans from a health care exchange. Effective January 1, 2002, Company-subsidized retiree medical, retiree dental and retiree life insurance benefits were eliminated for employees with original hire dates with the Company on or after January 1, 2002. The Company also amended its postretirement medical, dental and life insurance coverage plans to no longer provide subsidized coverage for employees who retired on or after January 1, 2014.

Assumptions

Pursuant to accounting principles related to the Company’s pension and other postretirement obligations to employees under its various benefit plans, the Company is required to make a significant number of assumptions in order to calculate the related liabilities and expenses each period. The two economic assumptions that have the most impact on pension and other postretirement expense under the defined benefit pension plan and group retiree health plan are the discount rate and the

expected long-term rate of return on plan assets. The assumed discount rates and yield curve is based on high-quality fixed income investments consistent with the maturity profile of the expected liability cash flows. Based on all available market and industry information, it was determined that 3.33% and 3.15% were the appropriate discount rates as of December 31, 2019 to calculate the Company’s pension and other postretirement obligations, respectively.

The expected long-term rate of return considers the actual compound rates of return earned over various historical time periods. The Company also considers the investment volatility, duration and total returns for various time periods related to the characteristics of the pension obligation, which are influenced by the Company's workforce demographics. In addition, for the pension plan, the Company anticipates an allocation of approximately 60% in fixed income securities and 40% in non fixed income securities (global equities, hedge funds and private market alternatives) to derive an expected long-term rate of return. For the other post-retirement plans, the Company anticipates an allocation of approximately 70% in fixed income securities and 30% in non fixed income securities. Based upon these analyses, management determined the long-term rate of return assumption to be 6.45% and 6.00% for the Company's pension and other postretirement obligations, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2019 and 6.60% for both pension and other postretirement obligations for the year ended December 31, 2018. To determine the Company's 2020 expense, the Company has assumed an expected long-term rate of return on plan assets of 6.00% and 5.60% for the Company's pension and other post retirement obligations, respectively.

Weighted Average Assumptions Used in Calculating the Benefit Obligations and the Net Amount Recognized

	Pension Benefits				Other Postretirement Benefits
	For the years ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
Discount rate	3.33	%	4.35	%	3.15	%	4.23	%

Weighted Average Assumptions Used in Calculating the Net Periodic Benefit Cost for Pension Plans

	For the years ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Discount rate	4.35	%	3.73	%	4.22	%
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets	6.45	%	6.60	%	6.60	%

Weighted Average Assumptions Used in Calculating the Net Periodic Benefit Cost for Other Postretirement Plans

	For the years ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Discount rate	4.23	%	3.55	%	3.97	%
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets	6.00	%	6.60	%	6.60	%

Assumed Health Care Cost Trend Rates

	For the years ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Pre-65 health care cost trend rate	7.00	%	6.50	%	6.75	%
Post-65 health care cost trend rate	N/A		N/A		N/A
Rate to which the cost trend rate is assumed to decline (the ultimate trend rate)	4.50	%	4.50	%	4.50	%
Year that the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate	2033		2028		2028

Obligations and Funded Status

The following tables set forth a reconciliation of beginning and ending balances of the benefit obligation and fair value of plan assets, as well as the funded status of the Company's defined benefit pension and postretirement health care and life insurance benefit plans. International plans represent an immaterial percentage of total pension assets, liabilities and expense and, for reporting purposes, are combined with domestic plans.

Change in Benefit Obligation

	Pension Benefits						Other Postretirement Benefits
	For the years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2019			2018
Benefit obligation — beginning of year	$	4,000		$	4,376		$	220		$	256
Service cost	4			4			—			—
Interest cost	159			142			8			7
Plan participants’ contributions	—			—			13			11
Actuarial loss (gain)	48			(6		)	6			—
Amendments	—			—			(2		)	—
Changes in assumptions	488			(329		)	19			(11		)
Benefits and expenses paid	(201		)	(186		)	(41		)	(45		)
Retiree drug subsidy	—			—			—			2
Foreign exchange adjustment	—			(1		)	—			—
Benefit obligation — end of year	$	4,498		$	4,000		$	223		$	220

Changes in assumptions in 2019 primarily included a $508 increase in the benefit obligation for pension benefits as a result of a decrease in the discount rate from 4.35% as of the December 31, 2018 valuation to 3.33% as of the December 31, 2019 valuation. Changes in assumptions in 2018 included a $281 decrease in the benefit obligation for pension benefits as a result of an increase in the discount rate from 3.73% as of the December 31, 2017 valuation to 4.35% as of the December 31, 2018 valuation.

The cash balance plan pension benefit obligation was $420 and $412 as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The interest crediting rate was 3.30% in 2019, 2018, and 2017.

On June 30, 2017, the Company transferred invested assets and cash from plan assets to purchase a group annuity contract that transferred approximately $1.6 billion of the Company's outstanding pension obligations related to certain U.S. retirees, terminated vested participants and beneficiaries. As a result of this transaction, the Company recognized a pre-tax settlement charge of $750. The settlement charge was included in the corporate category for segment reporting.

Change in Plan Assets

	Pension Benefits						Other Postretirement Benefits
	For the years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2019			2018
Fair value of plan assets — beginning of year	$	3,344		$	3,592		$	85		$	114
Actual return on plan assets	701			(172		)	12			(2		)
Employer contributions [1]	70			103			—			—
Benefits paid [2]	(176		)	(161		)	(22		)	(27		)
Expenses paid	(26		)	(17		)	—			—
Foreign exchange adjustment	1			(1		)	—			—
Fair value of plan assets — end of year	$	3,914		$	3,344		$	75		$	85
Funded status — end of year	$	(584	)	$	(656	)	$	(148	)	$	(135	)

[1] Employer contributions in 2019 and 2018 to the U.S. qualified defined benefit pension plan were discretionary, made in cash, and did not include contributions of the Company’s common stock.

[2] Other postretirement benefits paid represent non-key employee postretirement medical benefits paid from the Company's prefunded trust fund.

The fair value of assets for pension benefits, and hence the funded status, presented in the table above excludes assets of $161 and $139 as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, held in rabbi trusts and designated for the non-qualified pension plans. The assets do not qualify as plan assets; however, the assets are available to pay benefits for certain retired, terminated and active participants. Such assets are available to the Company’s general creditors in the event of insolvency. The rabbi trust assets consist of equity and fixed income investments. To the extent the fair value of these rabbi trusts were included in the table above, pension plan assets would have been $4,075 and $3,483 as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and the funded status of pension benefits would have been $(423) and $(517) as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Defined Benefit Pension Plans with an Accumulated Benefit Obligation in Excess of Plan Assets

	As of December 31,
	2019		2018
Projected benefit obligation	$	4,498	$	4,000
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	4,498	$	4,000
Fair value of plan assets	$	3,914	$	3,344

Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets

	Pension Benefits				Other Postretirement Benefits
	As of December 31,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
Other liabilities	$	584	$	656	$	148	$	135

Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost (Benefit) and Other Amounts Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

As a result of the pension settlement, in 2017, the Company recognized a pre-tax settlement charge of $750 ($488 net of tax) and a reduction to stockholders' equity of $144.

In connection with this transaction, the Company made a contribution of $280 in September 2017 to the U.S. qualified pension plan in order to maintain the plan's pre-transaction funded status.

Beginning with the first quarter of 2017, the Company adopted the full yield curve approach in the estimation of the interest cost component of net periodic benefit costs for its qualified and non-qualified pension plans and the postretirement benefit plan. The full yield curve approach applies the specific spot rates along the yield curve that are used in its determination of the projected benefit obligation at the beginning of the year. The change has been made to provide a better estimate of the interest cost component of net periodic benefit cost by better aligning projected benefit cash flows with corresponding spot rates on the yield curve rather than using a single weighted average discount rate derived from the yield curve as had been done historically.

This change does not affect the measurement of the Company's total benefit obligations as the change in the interest cost in net income is completely offset in the actuarial (gain) loss reported for the period in other comprehensive income. The change reduced the before tax interest cost component of net periodic benefit cost by $32 for the year ended December 31, 2017. The discount rate being used to measure interest cost was 3.58% for the period from January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017 and 3.37% for the period from July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 for the qualified pension plan, 3.55% for the non-qualified pension plan, and 3.13% for the postretirement benefit plan. Under the Company's historical estimation approach, the weighted average discount rate for the interest cost component would have been 4.22% for the period from January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017 and 3.92% for the period from July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 for the qualified pension plan, 4.19% for the non-qualified pension plan and 3.97% for the postretirement benefit plan. The Company accounted for this change as a change in estimate, and accordingly, has recognized the effect prospectively beginning in 2017.

Net Periodic Cost (Benefit)

	Pension Benefits									Other Postretirement Benefits
	For the years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017			2019			2018			2017
Service cost	$	4		$	4		$	4		$	—		$	—		$	—
Interest cost	159			142			170			8			7			8
Expected return on plan assets	(226		)	(227		)	(267		)	(4		)	(7		)	(8		)
Amortization of prior service credit	—			—			—			(7		)	(7		)	(7		)
Amortization of actuarial loss	44			49			56			6			6			5
Settlements	—			—			750			—			—			—
Net periodic cost (benefit)	$	(19	)	$	(32	)	$	713		$	3		$	(1	)	$	(2	)

Amounts Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

	Pension Benefits									Other Postretirement Benefits
	For the years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017			2019			2018			2017
Amortization of actuarial loss	$	44		$	49		$	56		$	6		$	6		$	5
Settlement loss	—			—			750			—			—			—
Amortization of prior service credit	—			—			—			(7		)	(6		)	(7		)
Net loss arising during the year	(88		)	(91		)	(209		)	(18		)	3			(12		)
Prior service cost (credit)	—			—			—			2			—			—
Total	$	(44	)	$	(42	)	$	597		$	(17	)	$	3		$	(14	)

Amounts in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Before Tax, not yet Recognized as Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost

	Pension Benefits									Other Postretirement Benefits
	As of December 31,
	2019			2018			2017			2019			2018			2017
Net loss	$	(2,052	)	$	(2,008	)	$	(1,966	)	$	(132	)	$	(120	)	$	(129	)
Prior service credit	—			—			—			67			72			78
Total	$	(2,052	)	$	(2,008	)	$	(1,966	)	$	(65	)	$	(48	)	$	(51	)

The pension settlement transaction resulted in a decrease to unrecognized net loss of $750 in 2017.

Pension Plan Assets

Investment Strategy and Target Allocation

The overall investment strategy of the Pension Plan is to maximize total investment returns to provide sufficient funding for present and anticipated future benefit obligations within the constraints of a prudent level of portfolio risk and diversification. With respect to asset management, the oversight responsibility of the Pension Plan rests with The Hartford’s Pension Fund Trust and Investment Committee composed of individuals whose responsibilities include establishing overall objectives and the setting of investment policy; selecting appropriate investment options and ranges; reviewing the asset allocation mix and asset allocation targets on a regular basis; and monitoring performance to determine whether or not the rate of return objectives are being met and that policy and guidelines are being followed. The Company believes that the asset allocation decision will be the single most important factor determining the long-term performance of the Pension Plan.

Target Asset Allocation

	Pension Plans				Other Postretirement Plans
	Minimum		Maximum		Minimum		Maximum
Equity securities	5	%	35	%	15	%	45	%
Fixed income securities	50	%	70	%	55	%	85	%
Alternative assets	—	%	45	%	—	%	—	%

Divergent market performance among different asset classes may, from time to time, cause the asset allocation to deviate from the desired asset allocation ranges. The asset allocation mix is reviewed on a periodic basis. If it is determined that an asset allocation mix rebalancing is required, future portfolio additions and withdrawals will be used, as necessary, to bring the allocation within tactical ranges.

The Pension Plan invests in commingled funds and partnerships managed by unaffiliated managers to gain exposure to emerging

markets, equity, hedge funds and other alternative investments. These portfolios encompass multiple asset classes reflecting the current needs of the Pension Plan, the investment preferences and risk tolerance of the Pension Plan and the desired degree of diversification. These asset classes include publicly traded equities, bonds and alternative investments and are made up of individual investments in cash and cash equivalents, equity securities, debt securities, asset-backed securities, mortgage

loans and hedge funds. Hedge fund investments represent a diversified portfolio of partnership investments in a variety of strategies.

In addition, the Company uses U.S. Treasury bond futures contracts and U.S. Treasury STRIPS in a duration overlay program to adjust the duration of Pension Plan assets to better match the duration of the benefit obligation.

Pension Plan Assets at Fair Value

	As of December 31, 2019								As of December 31, 2018
Asset Category	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Short-term investments:	$	34	$	54	$	—	$	88	$	50	$	60	$	—	$	110
Fixed Income Securities:
Corporate	—		2,058		27		2,085		—		1,663		14		1,677
RMBS	—		61		—		61		—		62		1		63
U.S. Treasuries	—		101		—		101		10		120		—		130
Foreign government	—		17		1		18		—		15		2		17
CMBS	—		32		—		32		—		22		—		22
Other fixed income [1]	—		96		1		97		—		52		1		53
Mortgage Loans	—		—		131		131		—		—		133		133
Equity Securities:
Domestic	429		1		—		430		376		3		—		379
International	261		—		—		261		303		—		—		303
Total pension plan assets at fair value, in the fair value hierarchy [2]	$	724	$	2,420	$	160	$	3,304	$	739	$	1,997	$	151	$	2,887
Other Investments, at net asset value [3]:
Private Market Alternatives							358								272
Hedge funds							212								186
Total pension plan assets at fair value.	$	724	$	2,420	$	160	$	3,874	$	739	$	1,997	$	151	$	3,345

[1] Includes ABS, municipal bonds, and CDOs.

[2] Excludes approximately $40 and $1 as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, of investment receivables net of investment payables that are excluded from this disclosure requirement because they are trade receivables in the ordinary course of business where the carrying amount approximates fair value.

[3] Investments that are measured at net asset value per share or an equivalent and have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy.

The tables below provide fair value level 3 rollforwards for the Pension Plan Assets for which significant unobservable inputs ("Level 3") are used in the fair value measurement on a recurring basis. The Pension Plan classifies the fair value of financial instruments within Level 3 if there are no observable markets for

the instruments or, in the absence of active markets, if one or more of the significant inputs used to determine fair value are based on the Pension Plan’s own assumptions. Therefore, the gains and losses in the tables below include changes in fair value due to both observable and unobservable factors.

Pension Plan Asset Fair Value Measurements Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Assets	Corporate			RMBS			Foreign government			Mortgage loans			Other [1]			Totals
Fair Value as of January 1, 2019	$	14		$	1		$	2		$	133		$	1		$	151
Realized gains,net	3			—			—			—			—			3
Changes in unrealized gains, net	2			—			—			4			—			6
Purchases	7			—			—			—			—			7
Settlements	—			—			—			—			—			—
Sales	(3		)	(1		)	(1		)	(6		)	—			(11		)
Transfers into Level 3	4			—			—			—			—			4
Transfers out of Level 3	—			—			—			—			—			—
Fair Value as of December 31, 2019	$	27		$	—		$	1		$	131		$	1		$	160
Fair Value as of January 1, 2018	$	14		$	2		$	1		$	140		$	4		$	161
Realized gains,net	—			—			—			—			—			—
Changes in unrealized (losses) gains, net	(1		)	—			—			(1		)	—			(2		)
Purchases	5			—			1			—			—			6
Settlements	—			—			—			—			—			—
Sales	(4		)	(1		)	—			(6		)	(3		)	(14		)
Transfers into Level 3	—			—			—			—			—			—
Transfers out of Level 3	—			—			—			—			—			—
Fair Value as of December 31, 2018	$	14		$	1		$	2		$	133		$	1		$	151

[1] "Other" includes U.S. Treasuries, Other fixed income and CMBS investments.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, transfers into and (out) of Level 3 are primarily attributable to the appearance of or lack thereof of market observable information and the re-evaluation of the observability of pricing inputs.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, transfers in and/or (out) of Level 3 are primarily attributable to the availability of

market observable information and the re-evaluation of the observability of pricing inputs.

There was less than $1 in Company common stock included in the Pension Plan’s assets as of December 31, 2019 and 2018.

Other Postretirement Plan Assets at Fair Value

	As of December 31, 2019								As of December 31, 2018
Asset Category	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Short-term investments	$	3	$	—	$	—	$	3	$	4	$	—	$	—	$	4
Fixed Income Securities:
Corporate	—		18		—		18		—		19		—		19
RMBS	—		12		—		12		—		15		—		15
U.S. Treasuries	—		20		—		20		6		13		—		19
Foreign government	—		—		—		—		—		1		—		1
CMBS	—		1		—		1		—		2		—		2
Other fixed income	—		2		—		2		—		2		—		2
Equity Securities:
Large-cap	19				—		19		23		—		—		23
Total other postretirement plan assets at fair value [1]	$	22	$	53	$	—	$	75	$	33	$	52	$	—	$	85

[1] Excludes approximately $1 of investment payables net of investment receivables as of December 31, 2018 that are excluded from this disclosure requirement because they are trade receivables in the ordinary course of business where the carrying amount approximates fair value.

For other postretirement plan Level 3 assets, the fair value of corporate securities decreased from $1 as of December 31, 2017 to $0 as of December 31, 2018 due to $1 in sales.

There was no Company common stock included in the other postretirement benefit plan assets as of December 31, 2019 and 2018.

Concentration of Risk

In order to minimize risk, the Pension Plan maintains a listing of permissible and prohibited investments. In addition, the Pension Plan has certain concentration limits and investment quality requirements imposed on permissible investment options. Permissible investments include U.S. equity, international equity, alternative asset and fixed income investments including derivative instruments. Permissible derivative instruments include futures contracts, options, swaps, currency forwards, caps or floors and may be used to control risk or enhance return but will not be used for leverage purposes.

Securities specifically prohibited from purchase include, but are not limited to: shares or fixed income instruments issued by The Hartford, short sales of any type within long-only portfolios, non-derivative securities involving the use of margin, leveraged floaters and inverse floaters, including money market obligations, natural resource real properties such as oil, gas or timber and precious metals.

Other than U.S. government and certain U.S. government agencies backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, the Pension Plan does not have any material exposure to any concentration risk of a single issuer.

Expected Employer Contributions

The Company does not have a 2020 required minimum funding contribution for the U.S. qualified defined benefit pension plan.

The Company has not determined whether, and to what extent, contributions may be made to the U. S. qualified defined benefit pension plan in 2020. The Company will monitor the funded status of the U.S. qualified defined benefit pension plan during 2020 to make this determination.

Benefit Payments

Amounts of Benefits Expected to be Paid over the next Ten Years from Pension and other Postretirement Plans as of December 31, 2019

	Pension Benefits		Other Postretirement Benefits
2020	$	240	$	25
2021	248		23
2022	254		20
2023	256		18
2024	258		16
2025 - 2029	1,291		63
Total	$	2,547	$	165