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Pension Plans and Postretirement Benefits
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Pension Plans and Postretirement Benefits PENSION PLANS AND POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITSWe have historically provided defined benefit retirement benefits, primarily through noncontributory pension plans, for most of our regular employees. Certain of our subsidiaries have made other benefits available to certain groups of employees,
including postretirement health care and life insurance benefits. For salaried employees, all major U.S. and Canadian defined benefit retirement plans have been closed to new entrants, and benefit accruals have ceased. For hourly employees, certain defined benefit retirement plans have been closed to new entrants.
Our funding policy is to fund the plans as recommended by the respective plan actuaries and in accordance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, or other applicable law. Assuming we continue as a government contractor, our contractual arrangements with the U.S. Government provide for the recovery of contributions to our pension and other postretirement benefit plans covering employees working primarily in our Nuclear Operations Group segment.
Obligations and Funded Status
 Pension Benefits
Year Ended December 31,		Other Benefits
Year Ended December 31,
 2020201920202019
 (In thousands)
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of period
$1,308,798 $1,186,186 $58,881 $60,405 
Service cost
10,650 9,123 642 545 
Interest cost
37,199 46,307 1,612 2,254 
Plan participants' contributions
180 321 562 550 
Amendments
2,333 5,523 — — 
Settlements
(7,041)(25,694)— — 
Actuarial loss (gain)
120,126 139,909 2,219 (2,427)
Foreign currency exchange rate changes
3,513 6,027 331 462 
Benefits paid
(61,703)(58,904)(3,161)(2,908)
Benefit obligation at end of period
$1,414,055 $1,308,798 $61,086 $58,881 
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period
$1,150,495 $1,024,091 $48,321 $43,945 
Actual return on plan assets
190,862 195,846 5,293 5,688 
Plan participants' contributions
180 321 562 550 
Company contributions
5,131 4,284 992 915 
Settlements
(7,041)(21,191)— — 
Foreign currency exchange rate changes
3,308 6,048 — — 
Benefits paid
(61,703)(58,904)(3,091)(2,777)
Fair value of plan assets at the end of period
1,281,232 1,150,495 52,077 48,321 
Funded status
$(132,823)$(158,303)$(9,009)$(10,560)
Amounts recognized in the balance sheet consist of:
Prepaid postretirement benefit obligation
$— $— $18,069 $14,012 
Prepaid pension
14,588 16,936 — — 
Accrued employee benefits
(3,082)(3,218)(1,389)(1,313)
Accumulated postretirement benefit obligation
— — (25,689)(23,259)
Pension liability
(144,329)(172,021)— — 
Accrued benefit liability, net
$(132,823)$(158,303)$(9,009)$(10,560)
Amount recognized in accumulated comprehensive income (before taxes):
Prior service cost (credit)
$21,319 $22,356 $(1,059)$(1,252)
Supplemental information:
Plans with accumulated benefit obligation in excess of plan assets:
Projected benefit obligation
$1,264,764 $1,167,257 N/AN/A
Accumulated benefit obligation
$1,255,899 $1,153,811 $24,593 $22,316 
Fair value of plan assets
$1,117,353 $992,018 $— $— 
Plans with plan assets in excess of accumulated benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation
$149,291 $141,541 N/AN/A
Accumulated benefit obligation
$149,270 $141,497 $36,493 $36,565 
Fair value of plan assets
$163,879 $158,477 $52,077 $48,321 
We record the service cost component of net periodic benefit cost within Operating income on our consolidated statements of income. For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, these amounts were $11.3 million, $9.7 million and $10.2 million, respectively. All other components of net periodic benefit cost are included in Other – net on our consolidated statements of income. For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, these amounts were $(31.6) million, $(17.5) million and $0.7 million, respectively. Components of net periodic benefit cost included in net income are as follows:
 Pension Benefits
Year Ended December 31,		Other Benefits
Year Ended December 31,
 202020192018202020192018
 (In thousands)
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost
$10,650 $9,123 $9,593 $642 $545 $620 
Interest cost
37,199 46,307 47,496 1,612 2,254 2,121 
Expected return on plan assets
(77,298)(69,809)(80,939)(2,691)(2,514)(2,540)
Amortization of prior service cost
3,370 2,903 2,221 (193)(311)(311)
Recognized net actuarial loss (gain)
6,829 9,353 36,738 (458)(5,723)(4,094)
Net periodic benefit cost (income)
$(19,250)$(2,123)$15,109 $(1,088)$(5,749)$(4,204)
Net periodic benefit cost related to our pension plans is calculated in accordance with GAAP. In addition, we calculate pension costs in accordance with U.S. cost accounting standards ("CAS") for purposes of cost recovery on our U.S. Government contracts to the extent applicable. See further discussion of CAS pension costs in our discussion of Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates included in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Recognized net actuarial losses (gains) consist primarily of our reported actuarial losses (gains), settlements, and the differences between the actual returns on plan assets and the expected returns on plan assets. The benefit obligation of our pension plans as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 increased by $124.2 million and $156.8 million, respectively, due primarily to decreases in the discount rate.
In July 2018, we completed the purchase of a group annuity contract that transferred certain domestic pension benefit obligations of approximately $240 million to an insurance company for approximately 1,300 retirees. As a result, we recognized pension settlement-related charges of $10.4 million during 2018.
We made contributions to our pension and postretirement benefit plans totaling $159.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2018. In August 2018, we accelerated $118.1 million of pension contributions to certain domestic pension plans in order to capture a tax benefit in our 2017 U.S. tax return due to the change in corporate tax rates.
Additional Information
 Pension Benefits
Year Ended December 31,		Other Benefits
Year Ended December 31,
 2020201920202019
 (In thousands)
Decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income due to actuarial losses – before taxes
$(2,333)$(5,523)$— $— 
In the current fiscal year, we have recognized expense (income) in other comprehensive income as a component of net periodic benefit cost of approximately $3.4 million and $(0.2) million for our pension benefits and other benefits, respectively.
Assumptions
 Pension BenefitsOther Benefits
 2020201920202019
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit obligations at December 31:
Discount rate
2.63 %3.31 %2.49 %3.21 %
 Pension BenefitsOther Benefits
 202020192018202020192018
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for the years ended December 31:
Discount rate to determine service cost
3.00 %3.74 %3.32 %3.01 %3.93 %3.91 %
Discount rate to determine interest cost
2.78 %3.98 %3.56 %2.62 %3.92 %3.50 %
Expected return on plan assets
6.95 %6.95 %6.95 %5.66 %5.68 %5.70 %
The expected return on plan assets rate assumptions are based on the long-term expected returns for the investment mix of assets in the portfolio. In setting these rates, we use a building-block approach. Historical real return trends for the various asset classes in the plan's portfolio are combined with anticipated future market conditions to estimate the real rate of return for each asset class. These rates are then adjusted for anticipated future inflation to estimate nominal rates of return for each asset class. The expected rate of return on plan assets is then determined to be the weighted-average nominal return based on the weightings of the asset classes within the total asset portfolio.
Our existing other benefit plans are unfunded, with the exception of the NFS postretirement benefit plans. These plans provide health benefits to certain salaried and hourly employees, as well as retired employees, of NFS. All of the assets for these postretirement benefit plans are contributed into a Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association trust.
20202019
Assumed health care cost trend rates at December 31:
Health care cost trend rate assumed for next year6.75 %7.00 %
Rates to which the cost trend rate is assumed to decline (ultimate trend rate)4.50 %4.50 %
Year that the rate reaches ultimate trend rate20302030
Investment Goals
General
The overall investment strategy of the pension trusts is to achieve long-term growth of principal, while avoiding excessive risk and to minimize the probability of loss of principal over the long term. The specific investment goals that have been set for the pension trusts, in the aggregate, are (1) to ensure that plan liabilities are met when due and (2) to achieve an investment return on trust assets consistent with a reasonable level of risk.
Allocations to each asset class for both domestic and foreign plans are reviewed periodically and rebalanced, if appropriate, to assure the continued relevance of the goals, objectives and strategies. The pension trusts for both our domestic and foreign plans employ a professional investment advisor and a number of professional investment managers whose individual benchmarks are, in the aggregate, consistent with the plan's overall investment objectives.
The goals of each investment manager are (1) to meet (in the case of passive accounts) or exceed (for actively managed accounts) the benchmark selected and agreed upon by the manager and the pension trust and (2) to display an overall level of risk in its portfolio that is consistent with the risk associated with the agreed upon benchmark.
The investment performance of total portfolios, as well as asset class components, is periodically measured against commonly accepted benchmarks, including the individual investment manager benchmarks. In evaluating investment manager performance, consideration is also given to personnel, strategy, research capabilities, organizational and business matters, adherence to discipline and other qualitative factors that may impact the ability to achieve desired investment results.
Domestic Plans
We sponsor the following domestic defined benefit pension plans:
•BWXT Retirement Plan;
•Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. Retirement Plan for Salaried Employees; and
•Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. Retirement Plan for Hourly Employees.
The assets of the domestic pension plans are commingled for investment purposes and held by the trustee in the BWXT Master Trust (the "Master Trust"). For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the investment returns on domestic plan assets of the Master Trust (net of deductions for management fees) were approximately 19% and 21%, respectively.
The following is a summary of the asset allocations for the Master Trust at December 31, 2020 and 2019 by asset category:
December 31,
20202019
Asset Category:
Commingled and Mutual Funds29 %27 %
U.S. Government Securities28 %22 %
Fixed Income (excluding U.S. Government Securities)18 %33 %
Diversified Credit11 %5 %
Real Estate7 %7 %
Partnerships with Security Holdings4 %5 %
Other3 %1 %
Total100 %100 %
The target allocation for 2021 for the domestic plans, by asset class, is as follows:
Asset Class:
Fixed Income49 %
Equities28 %
Other23 %
Foreign Plans
We sponsor various plans through certain of our Canadian subsidiaries.
The combined weighted-average asset allocations of these plans at December 31, 2020 and 2019 by asset category were as follows:
December 31,
20202019
Asset Category:
Fixed Income98 %62 %
Equity Securities and Commingled Mutual Funds— %35 %
Other2 %3 %
Total100 %100 %
The target allocation for 2021 for the Canadian plans, by asset class, is entirely fixed income securities.
Fair Value
See Note 14 for a detailed description of fair value measurements and the hierarchy established for valuation inputs. The following is a summary of total assets for our plans measured at fair value at December 31, 2020:
12/31/2020Level 1Level 2Level 3Unclassified
 (In thousands)
Pension and Other Benefits:
Fixed Income$391,418 $— $228,857 $— $162,561 
Commingled and Mutual Funds338,473 72,764 — — 265,709 
U.S. Government Securities316,375 310,975 5,400 — — 
Diversified Credit126,823 — — — 126,823 
Real Estate77,437 — — — 77,437 
Partnerships with Security Holdings49,007 — — — 49,007 
Cash and Accrued Items (1)
33,776 — — — 33,776 
Total Assets$1,333,309 $383,739 $234,257 $— $715,313 
(1)Includes items that are not required to be categorized in the fair value hierarchy in order to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the fair value of plan assets presented in the Obligations and Funded Status table.
The following is a summary of total assets for our plans measured at fair value at December 31, 2019:
12/31/2019Level 1Level 2Level 3Unclassified
 (In thousands)
Pension and Other Benefits:
Fixed Income$453,390 $— $355,064 $— $98,326 
Commingled and Mutual Funds334,786 58,161 — — 276,625 
U.S. Government Securities220,606 216,300 4,306 — — 
Partnerships with Security Holdings52,840 — — — 52,840 
Real Estate65,821 — — — 65,821 
Other47,550 — — — 47,550 
Cash and Accrued Items23,823 17,180 6,643 — — 
Total Assets$1,198,816 $291,641 $366,013 $— $541,162 
Cash Flows
 Domestic PlansForeign Plans
 Pension
Benefits		Other
Benefits		Pension
Benefits		Other
Benefits
 (In thousands)
Expected employer contributions to trusts of defined benefit plans:
2021$— $90 $1,827 N/A
Expected benefit payments:
2021$59,656 $2,736 $7,007 $507 
2022$61,903 $2,812 $7,237 $509 
2023$63,795 $2,819 $7,353 $539 
2024$65,255 $2,841 $7,469 $549 
2025$66,330 $2,827 $7,578 $578 
2026-2030$336,783 $12,950 $38,756 $3,322 
Defined Contribution Plans
We also provide benefits under the BWXT Thrift Plan (the "Thrift Plan"). The Thrift Plan generally provides for matching employer contributions of 50% of the first 6% of compensation, as defined in the Thrift Plan, contributed by
participants, and fully vest and are nonforfeitable after three years of service or upon retirement, death, lay-off or approved disability. These matching employer contributions are made in cash and invested at the employees' discretion. We also provide service-based cash contributions under the Thrift Plan to employees not accruing benefits under our defined benefit plans. Our Canadian Plans also include a defined contribution component whereby we make cash, service-based contributions. Amounts charged to expense for employer contributions under our defined contribution plans totaled approximately $35.8 million, $31.7 million and $31.3 million in the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.