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Employee Benefit Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans Employee Benefit Plans
The Company provides a wide range of benefits to its existing employees and retired employees, including retiree health care benefits. Employees are generally eligible for such benefits upon retirement and completion of a specified number of years of service. The Company does not pre-fund these health care plans and has the right to modify or terminate certain of these plans in the future. Certain groups of retirees pay a portion of the benefit costs.
Pension Plan Termination: On February 23, 2021, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a plan to effect the termination of the A&B Retirement Plan for Salaried Employees of Alexander & Baldwin, LLC and the Pension Plan for Employees of A&B Agricultural Companies (collectively, the “Defined Benefit Plans”), which became effective on May 31, 2021. On June 30, 2022, the Company completed the termination of the Defined Benefit Plans by meeting the following criteria: (1) an irrevocable action to terminate the Defined Benefit Plans had occurred, (2) the Company was relieved of the primary responsibility of the Defined Benefit Plans, and (3) the significant risks related to the obligations of the Defined Benefit Plans and the assets used to effect the settlement was eliminated for the Company.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company made cash contributions of $28.7 million to defined benefit plans, and in connection with the Defined Benefit Plans termination process, recorded a pre-tax settlement charge of $76.9 million within Pension termination in the consolidated statements of operations, which represents the acceleration of deferred charges previously included within accumulated other comprehensive loss and the impact of remeasuring the plan assets and obligations at termination. In addition, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of $18.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, to reclassify the tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive loss upon completion of the termination of the Defined Benefit Plans. As a result of the pension termination, the Company had no accumulated pension benefits obligation or defined benefit pension plan assets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and therefore, no corresponding investment policies, target asset allocations, expected rate-of-return on plan assets, or fair values.
Benefit Obligations, Plan Assets and Funded Status of the Plans: The measurement date for the Company’s benefit plan disclosures is December 31 of each year. The status of the funded defined benefit pension plan and the unfunded accumulated post-retirement benefit plans as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and are shown below (in millions):
Pension BenefitsOther Post-retirement BenefitsNon-qualified Plan Benefits
202320222023202220232022
Change in Benefit Obligation
Benefit obligation at beginning of year$— $227.2 $8.1 $12.6 $2.0 $3.1 
Service cost— 1.4 0.1 0.1 — — 
Interest cost— 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.1 
Plan participants’ contributions— — 0.6 0.6 — — 
Actuarial (gain) loss2
— (44.5)(0.1)(2.2)— (0.6)
Benefits paid— (13.9)(1.2)(1.2)— — 
Settlement— (170.9)— (2.2)— (0.6)
Benefit obligation at end of year$— $— $7.9 $8.1 $2.1 $2.0 
Change in Plan Assets
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year$— $186.6 $— $— $— $— 
Actual return on plan assets— (27.1)— — — — 
Employer contributions— 25.3 0.6 2.8 — 0.6 
Participant contributions— — 0.6 0.6 — — 
Benefits paid— (13.9)(1.2)(1.2)— — 
Settlement— (170.9)— (2.2)— (0.6)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year$— $— $— $— $— $— 
Funded Status (Recognized Liability1)
$— $— $(7.9)$(8.1)$(2.1)$(2.0)
1 Presented as Accrued pension and post-retirement benefits in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.
2 Defined benefit pension plan actuarial gains in the changes in benefit obligations for 2022 resulted primarily from favorable lump sum election and insurer annuity pricing upon pension termination.
Estimated Benefit Payments: The estimated future benefit payments for the next ten years are as follows (in millions):
202420252026202720282029-2033
Estimated Benefit Payments
Post-retirement Benefits$0.6 $0.6 $0.6 $0.6 $0.5 $2.5 
Non-qualified Plan Benefits1.6 0.5 — — — — 
Total$2.2 $1.1 $0.6 $0.6 $0.5 $2.5 
Estimated Future Contributions: Contributions are determined annually for each plan by the Company’s pension Administrative Committee, based upon the actuarial-determined minimum required contribution under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, the Pension Protection Act of 2006, and the maximum deductible contribution allowed for tax purposes. During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the Company made contributions of $0.6 million, $28.7 million, and $7.4 million to its defined benefit plans, respectively. The Company’s funding policy is to contribute cash to its defined benefit plans so that it meets at least the minimum contribution requirements. With the completion of the pension plan termination in 2022, the Company expects to make no further contributions to the defined benefit pension plans.

Net Benefit Cost Recognized and Amounts Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income: Components of the net periodic benefit cost and other amounts recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) for the defined benefit pension plans and the post-retirement health care and life insurance benefit plans during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, are shown below (in millions):
Pension BenefitsOther Post-retirement BenefitsNon-qualified Plan Benefits
Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost202320222021202320222021202320222021
Service cost$— $1.4 $1.2 $0.1 $0.1 $0.1 $— $— $— 
Interest cost— 0.7 5.1 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.1 — 
Expected return on plan assets— (2.6)(5.0)— — — — — — 
Amortization of net loss— 1.7 2.5 — 0.1 — — 0.1 0.1 
Amortization of prior service cost— 0.1 — — — — — — — 
Pension termination— 76.7 — — 0.1 — — 0.1 — 
Net periodic benefit cost$— $78.0 $3.8 $0.5 $0.7 $0.4 $0.1 $0.3 $0.1 
Other Changes in Plan Assets and Benefit Obligations Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Net gain (loss)$— $14.4 $(28.0)$0.1 $2.2 $0.6 $— $0.4 $— 
Amortization of net loss1
— 1.7 2.6 — 0.1 0.1 — 0.1 0.1 
Amortization of prior service credit1
— 0.1 — — — — — — — 
Pension termination1
— 76.7 — — 0.1 — — 0.1 — 
Income taxes related to other comprehensive income (loss)1
— (18.3)— — (0.1)— — 0.1 — 
Total recognized in Other comprehensive income (loss)— 74.6 (25.4)0.1 2.3 0.7 — 0.7 0.1 
Total recognized in net periodic benefit cost and Other comprehensive income (loss)$— $(3.4)$(29.2)$(0.4)$1.6 $0.3 $(0.1)$0.4 $— 
1 Represents amortization or recognition of balances previously recorded to Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the consolidated balance sheets and recognized as a component of net periodic benefit cost.
Other components of net periodic benefit costs (other than the service cost component) are recorded in Interest and other income (expense), net in the consolidated statements of operations.
Amounts recognized on the consolidated balance sheets in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, were as follows (in millions):
Pension BenefitsOther Post-retirement BenefitsNon-qualified Plan Benefits
202320222023202220232022
Net gain (loss), net of taxes$— $— $0.2 $0.3 $— $— 
Unrecognized prior service credit (cost), net of taxes— — — — — — 
Total Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)$— $— $0.2 $0.3 $— $— 
Unrecognized gains and losses of the post-retirement benefit plans are amortized over the average future lifetime of inactive participants in excess of a 10% corridor. Although current health costs are expected to increase, the Company attempts to mitigate these increases by maintaining caps on certain of its benefit plans, using lower cost health care plan options where possible, requiring that certain groups of employees pay a portion of their benefit costs, self-insuring for certain insurance plans, encouraging wellness programs for employees, and implementing measures to mitigate future benefit cost increases.
Assumptions in Plan Accounting: The weighted average assumptions used to determine benefit information during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, were as follows:
Pension BenefitsOther Post-retirement BenefitsNon-qualified Plan Benefits
202320222021202320222021202320222021
Weighted Average Assumptions
Discount rate to determine benefit obligationsN/AN/A2.26%5.15%5.41%2.86%5.19%5.24%1.68%
Discount rate to determine net costN/AN/A2.39%5.41%3.51%2.48%5.24%1.68%1.07%
Rate of compensation increaseN/AN/A
N/A
0.5%-3.0%
0.5%-3.0%
0.5%-3.0%
N/AN/AN/A
Expected return on plan assetsN/AN/A2.60%N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
Interest crediting ratesN/AN/A2.15%N/AN/AN/A2.15%2.15%2.15%
Initial health care cost trend rateN/AN/AN/A6.20%5.90%5.90%N/AN/AN/A
Ultimate rateN/AN/AN/A4.00%4.00%4.00%N/AN/AN/A
Year ultimate rate is reachedN/AN/AN/A204520452045N/AN/AN/A
A&B Defined Contribution Plans: The Company sponsors defined contribution plans that qualify under Section 401(k) of the Code and provides matching contributions of up to 3% of eligible compensation. The Company’s matching contributions expensed under these plans totaled $0.5 million, $0.6 million, and $0.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. The Company also maintains profit sharing plans and, if a minimum threshold of Company performance is achieved, provides contributions of 1% to 5%, depending upon Company performance above the minimum threshold. There were $0.5 million, $0.8 million and $0.7 million of profit sharing contribution expenses recognized in the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.
During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company amended the cash balance pension plan such that, effective January 1, 2020, benefit accruals under the cash balance formula would cease and would be replaced with a non-elective contribution of 3% of the participant's annual eligible compensation made by the Company into the participant's defined contribution plan. The Company's contribution expensed under this non-elective component of the defined contribution plan totaled $0.7 million, $0.7 million, and $0.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.