Voya Financial Inc

15. Employee Benefit Arrangements

Pension, Other Postretirement Benefit Plans and Other Benefit Plans

Voya Financial, Inc.'s subsidiaries maintain both qualified and non-qualified defined benefit pension plans (the "Plans"). The Plans generally cover all employees and certain sales representatives who meet specified eligibility requirements. Pension benefits are based on a formula using compensation and length of service. Annual contributions are paid to the Plans at a rate necessary to adequately fund the accrued liabilities of the Plans calculated in accordance with legal requirements. The Plans comply with applicable regulations concerning investments and funding levels.

The Voya Retirement Plan (the "Retirement Plan") is a tax qualified defined benefit plan, the benefits of which are guaranteed (within certain specified legal limits) by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ("PBGC"). Beginning January 1, 2012, the Retirement Plan adopted a cash balance pension formula instead of a final average pay ("FAP") formula, allowing all eligible employees to participate in the Retirement Plan. Participants earn an annual credit equal to 4% of eligible compensation. Interest is credited monthly based on a 30-year U.S. Treasury securities bond rate published by the Internal Revenue Service in the preceding August of each year. The accrued vested cash pension balance benefit is portable; participants can take it if they leave the Company.

The Company also provides certain supplemental retirement benefits to eligible employees, non-qualified pension plans for insurance sales representatives who have entered into a career agent agreement and certain other individuals. These plans are non-qualified defined benefit plans, which means all benefits are payable from the general assets of the sponsoring company.

The Company also offers deferred compensation plans for employees, including career agents and certain other individuals who meet the eligibility criteria. The Company’s deferred compensation commitment for employees is recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets in Other liabilities and totaled $302 and $275 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Voya Financial, Inc.'s subsidiaries also provide other postretirement and post-employment benefits to certain employees. These are primarily postretirement healthcare and life insurance benefits to retired employees and other eligible dependents and post-employment/pre-retirement plans provided to employees and former employees. The Company's other postretirement benefit obligation and unfunded status totaled $9 and $11 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Additionally, net periodic benefit for other postretirement benefits totaled $1, $2 and $3 for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Obligations, Funded Status and Net Periodic Benefit Costs

The Company's Retirement Plan was fully funded in compliance with Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") guidelines as of December 31, 2022, which is tested annually subsequent to this filing.

The following tables summarize a reconciliation of beginning and ending balances of the benefit obligation and fair value of plan assets for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 and the discount rate and interest credit rate used in determining pension benefit obligations as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 as well as the funded status of the Company's Plans as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:

(1)Includes actuarial loss of $37 and $(571) due to change in discount rate for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The discount rate decreased 0.19% during 2023 driven by a decrease in corporate AA yields. The discount rate increased 2.47% during 2022 driven by an increase in the 30-year Treasury and corporate AA yields.

(2) Includes Retirement Plan benefit obligations of $1,649 and $1,597 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and non-qualified plan benefit obligations of $350 and $346 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

(3)Represents Retirement Plan Assets.

(4) Funded status is not indicative of the Company's ability to pay ongoing pension benefits or of its obligation to fund retirement trusts. Required pension funding for qualified plans is determined in accordance with ERISA regulations.

In determining the discount rate assumption, the Company utilizes current market information provided by its plan actuaries including discounted cash flow analyses of the Company’s pension and general movements in the current market environment. The discount rate modeling process involves selecting a portfolio of high quality, noncallable bonds that will match the cash flows of the pension plans.

The following table summarizes amounts related to the Plans recognized on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:

(1) Excludes other postretirement benefit obligations of $9 and $11 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

(2) Prepaid benefit cost is included in Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Accrued benefit cost is included in Other liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

There wereno amounts related to the Plans recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

The following table summarizes information for the Plans with a projected benefit obligation and an accumulated benefit obligation in excess of plan assets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:

Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost

The components of net periodic benefit costs recognized in Operating expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, weighted-average assumptions used in determining net benefit cost of the Plans and other changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in Other comprehensive income (loss) related to the Plans were as follows for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:

The expected return on plan assets is updated at least annually using the calculated value approach, taking into consideration the Retirement Plan’s asset allocation, historical returns on the types of assets held in the Retirement Plan's portfolio of assets ("the Fund") and the current economic environment. Based on these factors, it is expected that the Fund’s assets will earn an average percentage per year over the long term. This estimation is based on an active return on a compound basis, with a reduction for administrative expenses and non-Voya investment manager fees paid from the Fund. For estimation purposes, it is assumed the long-term asset mix will be consistent with the current mix. Changes in the asset mix could impact the amount of recorded pension income or expense, the funded status of the Plan, and the need for future cash contributions.

Plan Assets

The Retirement Plan is the only defined benefit plan with plan assets in a trust. The primary financial objective of the Retirement Plan is to secure participant retirement benefits. As such, the key objective in the Retirement Plan’s financial management is to promote funded status (i.e., the ratio of market value of assets to liabilities) stability, while maintaining the funded status surplus. The investment strategy for the Fund balances the requirement to generate returns with the need to control risk. The asset mix is recognized as the primary mechanism to influence the reward and risk structure of the Fund in an effort to accomplish the Retirement Plan’s funding objectives. Desirable target allocations amongst identified asset classes are set and, within each asset class, careful consideration is given to balancing the portfolio among industry sectors, geographies, interest rate sensitivity, economic growth, currency and other factors affecting investment returns. The assets are managed by professional investment firms. They are bound by mandates and are measured against benchmarks. Consideration is given to balancing security concentration, investment style and reliance on particular active investment strategies, among other factors. The Company reviews its asset mix of the Fund on a regular basis. Generally, the pension committee of the Company will rebalance the Fund's asset mix to the target mix as individual portfolios approach their minimum or maximum levels. However, the Company has the discretion to deviate from these ranges or to manage investment performance using different criteria.

Derivative contracts may be used for hedging purposes to reduce the Retirement Plan’s exposure to interest rate risk. Treasury futures are used to manage the interest rate risk in the Retirement Plan’s fixed maturity portfolio. The derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting.

The following table summarizes the Company's pension plan’s target allocation range and actual asset allocation by asset category as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:

The following table summarizes the fair values of the pension plan assets by asset class as of December 31, 2023:

(1) This category includes common collective trust funds a short-term investment fund, which invests in a full range of high-quality, short-term money market securities. Participant's redemptions are processed by the following day.

(2)Equity securities includetwo assets that use NAV to calculate fair value. Baillie Gifford Funds has a balance of $25 and uses a bottom up approach to stock picking. In determining the potential of a company, the fund manager analyzes industry background, competitive advantage, management attitudes and financial strength and valuation. There are no redemption restrictions in the Baillie Gifford Funds. Silchester has a fund balance of $33 that has an investment objective to achieve long-term growth primarily by investing in a diversified portfolio of equity securities of companies located in any country other than the United States. Contributions and redemptions are conducted on a monthly basis as of the last business day of each month with notice required. at leastsix business days before the month-end. Baillie Gifford and Silchester, as a normal course of business, enter into contracts (commitments) that contain indemnifications or warranties. The funds' maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve future claims that have not yet occurred. Baillie Gifford and Silchester haveno unfunded commitments.

(3) Other investments that use NAV to calculate fair value includes a real estate fund has a balance of $61 and is an actively managed core portfolio of equity real estate, whose performance objective is to outperform the National Council of Real Estate investment Fiduciaries Open-End Diversified Core ("NFI_ODCE") index and to achieve at least a 5.0% real rate of return (i.e., inflation-adjusted return), before advisory fees, over any given three-to-five-year period. Redemptions of all or a portion of an investor's units may be redeemed as of the end of a calendar quarter with at least 60 days notice. Other investments also includes a limited partnership with a balance of $75 and is designed to realize appreciation in value primarily through the allocation of capital directly and indirectly among investment funds and accounts. There are significant redemption restrictions in the limited partnership fund.

The following table summarizes the fair values of the pension plan assets by asset class as of December 31, 2022:

(1) See footnote 1 to previous table.

(2) Equity securities includetwo assets that use NAV to calculate fair value. Baillie Gifford Funds has a balance of $21 and Silchester has a fund balance of $27. See footnote 2 to previous table for further information.

(3)Other investments that use NAV to calculate fair value includes a real estate fund has a balance of $75 and a limited partnership with a balance of $69. See footnote 3 to previous table for further information.

Pension plan assets are categorized into a three-level fair value hierarchy based upon the inputs available in evaluating each of the assets. Certain investments are measured at fair value using the NAV per share as a practical expedient and have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy. The leveling hierarchy is applied to the pension plans assets as follows:

•Cash and cash equivalents: The carrying amounts for cash and cash equivalents reflect the assets' fair value. The fair values for cash and cash equivalents are determined based on quoted market prices and are classified as Level 1.

•Short-term Investment Funds: Short term investment funds are estimated at NAV. See footnote (1) in fair value hierarchy table above for a description of the fund's redemption policies.

•U.S. Government securities, corporate bonds and notes and foreign securities: Fair values for actively traded marketable bonds are determined based upon quoted market prices and are classified as Level 1 assets. Corporate bonds, ABS, U.S. agency bonds, and foreign securities use observable pricing method such as matrix pricing, market corroborated pricing or inputs such as yield curves and indices. These investments are classified as Level 2.

•Equity securities: Fair values for actively traded equity securities are based upon a quoted market price determined in an active market and are included in Level 1. Collective trust use observable pricing method such as matrix pricing, market corroborated pricing or inputs such as yield curves and indices. These investments are classified as Level 2. Commingled funds are estimated at NAV per share. See footnote (2) in fair value hierarchy table above for a description of the fund's redemption policies.

•Other investments: Other investments are estimated at NAV. See footnote (3) in fair value hierarchy table above for more information.

Expected Future Contributions and Benefit Payments

The following table summarizes the expected benefit payments for the Company's pension plans to be paid for the years indicated:

The Company expects that it will make a cash contribution of approximately $27 to the Plans in 2024.

Defined Contribution Plans

Certain of the Company’s subsidiaries sponsor defined contribution plans. The largest defined contribution plan is the Voya 401(k) Savings Plan (the "Savings Plan"). The assets of the Savings Plan are held in independently administered funds. Substantially all employees of the Company are eligible to participate, other than the Company’s agents. The Savings Plan is a tax qualified defined contribution plan. Savings Plan benefits are not guaranteed by the PBGC. The Savings Plan allows eligible participants to defer into the Savings Plan a specified percentage of eligible compensation on a pretax basis. The Company matches such pretax contributions, up to a maximum of 6% of eligible compensation, subject to IRS limits. Matching contributions are subject to a 4-year graded vesting schedule. Contributions made to the Savings Plan are subject to certain limits imposed by applicable law. These plans do not give rise to balance sheet provisions, other than relating to short-term timing differences included in Other liabilities. The amount of cost recognized for the defined contribution pension plans for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 was $44, $36 and $36, respectively, and is recorded in Operating expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.