Employee Benefit Obligations

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Employee Benefit Obligations

Employee Benefit Obligations

17.    Employee Benefit Obligations

	March 31,		December 31,
($ in millions)	2024		2023
Underfunded defined benefit pension liabilities	$	299	$	323
Less: Current portion		(20)		(21)
Long-term defined benefit pension liabilities		279		302
Long-term retiree medical liabilities		84		90
Deferred compensation plans		217		280
Other		65		63
	$	645	$	735

Components of net periodic benefit cost associated with the company’s defined benefit pension plans were as follows:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2024						2023
($ in millions)	U.S.		Non-U.S.		Total		U.S.		Non-U.S.		Total
Ball-sponsored plans:
Service cost	$	4	$	1	$	5	$	4	$	1	$	5
Interest cost		15		20		35		16		21		37
Expected return on plan assets		(22)		(20)		(42)		(22)		(24)		(46)
Amortization of prior service cost		—		1		1		—		1		1
Recognized net actuarial loss		1		4		5		1		—		1
Total net periodic benefit cost	$	(2)	$	6	$	4	$	(1)	$	(1)	$	(2)

Non-service pension income of $1 million and $7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, is included in selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of earnings.

Contributions to the company’s defined benefit pension plans were $10 million for the first three months of 2024 compared to $4 million for the first three months of 2023, and such contributions are expected to be approximately $33 million for the full year of 2024. This estimate may change based on changes in the Pension Protection Act, actual plan asset performance and available company cash flow, among other factors.

In November 2023, the Trustee Board of the U.K. defined benefit pension plan entered into an agreement with an insurance company for a bulk annuity purchase, or “buy-in”, for its U.K. defined benefit pension plan to reduce retirement plan risk, while delivering promised benefits to plan participants. This transaction allows the company to reduce volatility by removing investment, longevity, mortality, interest rate and inflation risk upon the transfer of significantly all of the pension plan assets to the insurer in exchange for the group annuity insurance contract. At this time the Company retains both the fair value of the annuity contract within plan assets and the pension benefit obligations related to these participants. The plan was frozen on April 5, 2024, and the company anticipates the “buy-out” may occur within the next two years, which will trigger a pension settlement that will result in all plan balances, including accumulated pension components within other comprehensive income, being charged to expense as a noncash settlement charge.