Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405]

Retirement Benefit Plans

v3.25.4
Retirement Benefit Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 27, 2025
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Retirement Benefit Plans [Text Block]
Note 17 : Retirement Benefit Plans
Defined Contribution Plans
We provide tax-qualified defined contribution plans for the benefit of eligible employees, former employees and retirees in the U.S. and certain other countries. The plans are designed to provide employees with an accumulation of funds for retirement on a tax-deferred basis. For the benefit of eligible U.S. employees, we also provide an unfunded non-tax-qualified supplemental deferred compensation plan for certain highly compensated employees, which had a balance of $3.2 billion as of December 27, 2025 ($3.3 billion as of December 28, 2024), recorded within other accrued liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
We expensed $347 million in 2025, $541 million in 2024 and $272 million in 2023 for matching contributions based on the amount of employee contributions under the U.S. qualified defined contribution and non-qualified deferred compensation plans. The matching contribution in the U.S. qualified defined contribution plan was reduced from March 1 through December 31, 2023, increased from January 1 through December 31, 2024, and decreased beginning January 1, 2025.
U.S. Retiree Medical Plan
Upon retirement, we provide certain benefits to eligible U.S. employees who were hired prior to 2014 under the U.S. Retiree Medical Plan. The benefits can be used to pay all or a portion of the cost to purchase eligible coverage in a medical plan.
As of December 27, 2025 and December 28, 2024, the projected benefit obligations were $505 million and $493 million, which used the discount rates of 5.3% and 5.7%. The December 27, 2025 and December 28, 2024 corresponding fair values of plan assets were $549 million and $542 million. As of December 27, 2025 and December 28, 2024, the U.S. Retiree Medical Plan was in the net asset position.
The investment strategy for U.S. Retiree Medical Plan assets is to invest primarily in liquid assets, due to the level of expected future benefit payments. The assets are invested in tax-aware global equity and fixed-income long credit portfolios. Both portfolios are actively managed by external managers. The tax-aware global equity portfolio is composed of a diversified mix of equities in developed countries.
The tax-aware fixed-income long credit portfolio is composed of domestic securities. The allocation to each asset class will fluctuate with market conditions, such as volatility and liquidity concerns, and will typically be rebalanced when outside the target ranges, which are 50% equity and 50% fixed-income investments. As of December 27, 2025 a significant amount (majority amount as of December 28, 2024) of the U.S. Retiree Medical Plan assets were invested in exchange-traded equity securities and were measured at fair value using Level 1 inputs. The remaining U.S. Retiree Medical Plan assets were invested in fixed-income investments and were measured at fair value using Level 2 inputs.
As of December 27, 2025, the estimated benefit payments for this plan over the next 10 years are as follows:
(In Millions) 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031-2035
Postretirement medical benefits $ 47  $ 46  $ 46  $ 45  $ 44  $ 208 
Pension Benefit Plans
We provide defined-benefit pension plans in certain countries, most significantly Ireland, the U.S., Israel and Germany. The majority of the plans' benefits have been frozen.
Benefit Obligation and Plan Assets for Pension Benefit Plans
The vested benefit obligation for a defined-benefit pension plan is the actuarial present value of the vested benefits to which the employee is currently entitled based on the employee's expected date of separation or retirement.
Years Ended (In Millions)
 Dec 27, 2025 Dec 28, 2024
Changes in projected benefit obligation for pension benefit plans:
Beginning projected benefit obligation $ 2,646  $ 2,825 
Service cost 35  33 
Interest cost 124  122 
Actuarial (gain) loss (137) (40)
Currency exchange rate changes 249  (107)
Plan curtailments (12) (4)
Plan settlements (182) (143)
Other (66) (40)
Ending projected benefit obligation1
2,657  2,646 
Changes in fair value of plan assets for pension benefit plans:
Beginning fair value of plan assets 2,142  2,212 
Actual return on plan assets 34  121 
Currency exchange rate changes 178  (74)
Plan settlements (182) (143)
Other 26  26 
Ending fair value of plan assets2
2,198  2,142 
Net unfunded status of pension benefit plans
 $ 459  $ 504 
Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets:
Other long-term assets $ 217  $ 135 
Current liabilities
 $ 12  $ 7 
Other long-term liabilities $ 664  $ 632 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (income), before tax3
$ 240  $ 337 
Accumulated benefit obligation $ 2,479  $ 2,509 
1    The projected benefit obligation was approximately 30% in the U.S. and 70% outside of the U.S. as of December 27, 2025 and December 28, 2024.
2    The fair value of plan assets was approximately 35% in the U.S. and 65% outside of the U.S. as of December 27, 2025 (approximately 40% in the U.S. and 60% outside of the U.S. as of December 28, 2024).
3    The accumulated other comprehensive loss (income), before tax, was approximately 95% in the U.S. and 5% outside of the U.S. as of December 27, 2025 (approximately 80% in the U.S. and 20% outside of the U.S. as of December 28, 2024).
Changes in actuarial gains and losses in the projected benefit obligation are generally driven by discount rate movement. We use the corridor approach to amortize actuarial gains and losses. Under this approach, net actuarial gains or losses in excess of 10% of the larger of the projected benefit obligation or the fair value of plan assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the average remaining service period of active plan participants.
As of December 27, 2025, the accumulated benefit obligations were $728 million and $1.8 billion for the U.S. plan and non-U.S. plans, respectively. As of December 28, 2024, the accumulated benefit obligations were $763 million and $1.7 billion for the U.S. plan and non-U.S. plans, respectively. As of December 27, 2025 and December 28, 2024, only non-U.S. plans had projected benefit obligations and accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets.
(In Millions)
 Dec 27, 2025 Dec 28, 2024
Plans with accumulated benefit obligation in excess of plan assets:
Accumulated benefit obligation $ 888  $ 850 
Plan assets $ 366  $ 348 
Plans with projected benefit obligation in excess of plan assets:
Projected benefit obligation $ 1,042  $ 987 
Plan assets $ 366  $ 348 
Assumptions for Pension Benefit Plans
Dec 27, 2025 Dec 28, 2024
Weighted average actuarial assumptions used to determine benefit obligations
Discount rate 4.8  % 4.6  %
Rate of compensation increase 3.8  % 3.4  %
Years Ended
 Dec 27, 2025 Dec 28, 2024 Dec 30, 2023
Weighted average actuarial assumptions used to determine costs
Discount rate 4.6  % 4.5  % 4.9  %
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets 4.8  % 5.1  % 5.0  %
Rate of compensation increase 3.4  % 3.3  % 3.7  %
We establish the discount rate for each pension plan by analyzing current market long-term bond rates and matching the bond maturity with the average duration of the pension liabilities.
We establish the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets by developing a forward-looking, long-term return assumption for each pension fund asset class, taking into account factors such as the expected real return for the specific asset class and inflation. A single, long-term rate of return is then calculated as the weighted average of the target asset allocation percentages and the long-term return assumption for each asset class.
Funding
Our practice is to fund the various pension plans in amounts sufficient to meet the minimum requirements of applicable local laws and regulations. On a worldwide basis, our pension and retiree medical plans were 87% funded as of December 27, 2025. Funded status is not indicative of our ability to pay ongoing pension benefits or of our obligation to fund retirement trusts.
Net Periodic Benefit Cost
The net periodic benefit cost for pension and U.S. retiree medical benefits was $82 million in 2025 ($69 million in 2024 and $107 million in 2023).
Pension Plan Assets
December 27, 2025 December 28, 2024
Fair Value Measurements Fair Value Measurements
(In Millions)
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
 Total
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
 Total
Equity securities $ —  $ 259  $ —  $ 259  $ —  $ 344  $ —  $ 344 
Fixed income investments
 —  184  28  212  —  142  24  166 
Assets measured by fair value hierarchy $ —  $ 443  $ 28  $ 471  $ —  $ 486  $ 24  $ 510 
Assets measured at net asset value 1,712  1,618 
Cash and cash equivalents 15  14 
Total pension plan assets at fair value $ 2,198  $ 2,142 
U.S. Plan Assets
The investment strategy for U.S. Pension Plan assets is to manage the funded status volatility, taking into consideration the investment horizon and expected volatility to help enable sufficient assets to be available to pay pension benefits as they come due. The allocation to each asset class will fluctuate with market conditions, such as volatility and liquidity concerns, and will typically be rebalanced when outside the target ranges, which are 90% fixed income and 10% equity investments. During 2025 and 2024, the U.S. Pension Plan assets were invested in collective investment trust funds, which are measured at net asset value.
Non-U.S. Plan Assets
The investments of the non-U.S. plans are managed by insurance companies, pension funds or third-party trustees, consistent with regulations or market practice of the country where the assets are invested. The investment manager makes investment decisions within the guidelines set by Intel or local regulations. Investments managed by qualified insurance companies or pension funds under standard contracts follow local regulations, and we are not actively involved in their investment strategies. For the assets that we have the discretion to set investment guidelines, the assets are invested in developed country equity investments and fixed-income investments, either through index funds or direct investment. In general, the investment strategy is designed to accumulate a diversified portfolio among markets, asset classes or individual securities to reduce market risk and to help enable sufficient pension assets to be available to pay benefits as they come due. The equity investments in the non-U.S. plan assets are invested in a diversified mix of equities of developed countries, including the U.S., and emerging markets throughout the world. We have control over the investment strategy related to the majority of the assets measured at net asset value, which are invested in hedge funds, bond index funds and equity index funds. The target allocation of the non-U.S. plan assets that we have control over was approximately 60% fixed income, 30% equity and 10% hedge fund investments in 2025 (approximately 50% fixed income, 35% equity, and 15% hedge fund investments in 2024).
Estimated Future Benefit Payments for Pension Benefit Plans
As of December 27, 2025, estimated benefit payments over the next 10 years are as follows:
(In Millions)
 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031-2035
Pension benefits $ 108  $ 97  $ 99  $ 108  $ 115  $ 668