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Employee Benefit Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans
NOTE 17 - EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
The following summarizes retirement plan expense for the years ended December 31:
202320222021
 (dollars in thousands)
401(k) Retirement Plan$11,930 $10,988 $10,338 
Pension Plan464 (1,347)217 
Total$12,394 $9,641 $10,555 

The 401(k) Retirement Plan is a defined contribution plan under which eligible employees may defer a portion of their pre-tax covered compensation on an annual basis, with employer matches of up to 5% of employee compensation. Employee and employer contributions under these features are 100% vested.

Contributions to the Pension Plan are actuarially determined and funded annually, if necessary. The Corporation recognizes the funded status of its Pension Plan on the consolidated balance sheets and recognizes the changes in that funded status through OCI. The Pension Plan has been curtailed, with no additional benefits accruing to participants.
Pension Plan

The net periodic pension cost for the Pension Plan, as determined by consulting actuaries, consisted of the following components for the years ended December 31:
202320222021
 (dollars in thousands)
Interest cost$3,269 $2,393 $2,244 
Expected return on assets(3,436)(4,393)(4,044)
Net amortization and deferral631 653 2,017 
Net periodic pension cost$464 $(1,347)$217 
The following table summarizes the changes in the projected benefit obligation and fair value of Pension Plan assets for the plan years ended December 31:
20232022
 (dollars in thousands)
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year$68,716 $87,530 
Interest cost3,269 2,393 
Benefit payments(4,687)(4,502)
Change in assumptions1,492 (17,131)
Experience gain162 426 
Projected benefit obligation at end of year$68,952 $68,716 
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year$78,137 $94,115 
Actual return on plan assets11,209 (11,476)
Benefit payments(4,687)(4,502)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year$84,659 $78,137 

The following table presents the funded status of the Pension Plan, included in other assets and other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets, as of December 31:
20232022
 (dollars in thousands)
Projected benefit obligation$(68,952)$(68,716)
Fair value of plan assets84,659 78,137 
Funded status$15,707 $9,421 

The following table summarizes the changes in the unrecognized net loss included as a component of AOCI:
 Unrecognized Net Loss 
 Before taxNet of tax
 (dollars in thousands)
Balance as of December 31, 2021$13,558 $10,545 
Recognized as a component of 2022 periodic pension cost(653)(510)
Unrecognized losses arising in 2022(835)(651)
Balance as of December 31, 202212,070 9,384 
Recognized as a component of 2023 periodic pension cost(631)(492)
Unrecognized losses arising in 2023(6,119)(4,775)
Balance as of December 31, 2023$5,320 $4,117 
The following rates were used to calculate the net periodic pension cost and the present value of benefit obligations as of December 31:
202320222021
Discount rate-projected benefit obligation4.73 %4.93 %2.80 %
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets5.00 %5.00 %5.00 %

The discount rates used were determined using the FTSE Pension Discount Curve (formerly, the Citigroup Average Life discount rate table), as adjusted based on the Pension Plan's expected benefit payments.

The 5.00% long-term rate of return on plan assets used to calculate the net periodic pension cost was based on historical returns, adjusted for expectations of long-term asset returns based on the December 31, 2023 weighted average asset allocations. The expected long-term return is considered to be appropriate based on the asset mix and the historical returns realized.

The following table presents a summary of the fair values of the Pension Plan's assets as of December 31:
 20232022
 Estimated
Fair Value		% of Total
Assets		Estimated
Fair Value		% of Total
Assets
 (dollars in thousands)
Equity mutual funds$27,998 $23,338 
Equity common trust funds20,246 16,919 
Equity securities48,244 57.0 %40,257 51.5 %
Cash and money market funds6,276 9,102 
Fixed income mutual funds12,639 15,252 
Corporate debt securities2,600 2,324 
U.S. Government agency securities9,908 7,041 
Fixed income securities and cash31,423 37.1 %33,719 43.2 %
Other alternative investment funds4,992 5.9 %4,161 5.3 %
Total$84,659 100.0 %$78,137 100.0 %

Investment allocation decisions are made by a retirement plan committee. The goal of the investment allocation strategy is to match certain benefit obligations with maturities of fixed income securities. Alternative investments may include managed futures, commodities, real estate investment trusts, master limited partnerships, and long-short strategies with traditional stocks and bonds. All alternative investments are in the form of mutual funds, not individual contracts, to enable daily liquidity.
The fair values for assets held by the Pension Plan are based on quoted prices for identical instruments and would be categorized as Level 1 assets under the fair value hierarchy.

Estimated future benefit payments are as follows (in thousands):
Year 
2024$4,799 
20254,852 
20264,942 
20275,007 
20285,002 
Thereafter24,638 
Total$49,240 

Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plan

In connection with the Merger, the Corporation assumed the obligations of Prudential Bancorp under the Prudential Bancorp Pension Plan that had previously been closed to new Prudential Bancorp participants.
The Prudential Bancorp Pension Plan is structured as a multiple employer plan under Internal Revenue Code Section 413(c). It maintains a single trust and all assets are commingled and invested on a pooled basis. All amounts payable by the Prudential Bancorp Pension Plan are a general charge upon all its assets. This structure gives rise to the risk if a participating employer fails before funding up to cover the liabilities of its participants and orphans, contributions for all remaining employers will increase, as assets have to be re-allocated to cover such shortfall.

Information regarding the Prudential Bancorp Pension Plan as of December 31, 2023 is as follows:

Legal Name of PlanPentegra Defined Benefit Plan for Financial Institutions
(dollars in thousands)
Plan Employer Identification Number23-1928421
The Corporation's contribution for the year ended December 31, 2023(1)
$358 
Are the Corporation's contributions more than 5% of total contributions?No
Funded Status80.12 %
(1) Includes 2024 prepayment of $140 thousand.

Postretirement Benefits

The Corporation provides medical benefits and life insurance benefits under the Postretirement Plan to certain retired full-time employees who were employees of the Corporation prior to January 1, 1998. Prior to February 1, 2014, certain full-time employees became eligible for these discretionary benefits if they reached retirement age while working for the Corporation. The Corporation recognizes the funded status of the Postretirement Plan on the consolidated balance sheets and recognizes the changes in that funded status through OCI.

The components of the net benefit for Postretirement Plan other than pensions are as follows:
202320222021
 (dollars in thousands)
Interest cost$42 $34 $32 
Net amortization and deferral(558)(525)(536)
Net postretirement benefit$(516)$(491)$(504)

This table summarizes the changes in the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation for the years ended December 31:
20232022
 (dollars in thousands)
Accumulated postretirement benefit obligation at beginning of year$972 $1,244 
Interest cost42 34 
Benefit payments(147)(155)
Change in experience(31)51 
Change in assumptions8 (202)
Accumulated postretirement benefit obligation at end of year$844 $972 

The fair values of the Postretirement Plan assets were $0 as of both December 31, 2023 and 2022. The funded status of the Postretirement Plan, included in other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $0.8 million and $1.0 million, respectively.
The following table summarizes the changes in items recognized as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss):
 Before tax 
 Unrecognized
Prior Service
Cost		Unrecognized
Net Loss (Gain)		TotalNet of tax
 (dollars in thousands)
Balance as of December 31, 2021$(2,548)$(729)$(3,277)$(2,556)
Recognized as a component of 2022 postretirement cost464 61 525 410 
Unrecognized gains arising in 2022— (150)(150)(118)
Balance as of December 31, 2022(2,084)(818)(2,902)(2,264)
Recognized as a component of 2023 postretirement cost464 94 558 435 
Unrecognized gains arising in 2023— (23)(23)(18)
Balance as of December 31, 2023$(1,620)$(747)$(2,367)$(1,847)

The following rates were used to calculate net periodic postretirement benefit cost and the present value of benefit obligations as of December 31:
202320222021
Discount rate-projected benefit obligation4.73 %4.93 %2.80 %
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets3.00 %3.00 %3.00 %
The discount rates used to calculate the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation were determined using the FTSE Pension Discount Curve (formerly, the Citigroup Average Life discount rate table), as adjusted based on the Postretirement Plan's expected benefit payments.

Estimated future benefit payments under the Postretirement Plan are as follows (dollars in thousands):
Year 
2024$134 
2025122 
2026110 
202799 
202888 
Thereafter304 
Total $857