Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

14. Employee Benefit Plans

Our qualified 401(k) profit sharing plan (“401(k) Plan”) is the Chesapeake Energy Corporation Savings and Incentive Stock Bonus Plan, which is open to employees of Chesapeake and all our subsidiaries. Eligible employees may elect to defer compensation through voluntary contributions to their 401(k) Plan accounts, subject to plan limits and those set by the IRS. We match employee contributions dollar for dollar (subject to a maximum contribution of 6% of an employee's base salary and performance bonus) in cash. In April 2021, the 401(k) match was changed from 15% to 6%. In addition to our employer match contributions, in 2022 we commenced a discretionary fixed dollar contribution benefit for all employees, paid quarterly, which is based upon a calculation of 1% of Adjusted Free Cash Flow less the base quarterly dividend. This discretionary fixed dollar contribution is subject to an annual maximum contribution of $15,000 per employee. We contributed $13 million, $22 million, $8 million and $2 million to the 401(k) Plan in the 2023 Successor Period, 2022 Successor Period, 2021 Successor Period and 2021 Predecessor Period, respectively.