RETIREMENT PLANS AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS

Tredegar sponsors a noncontributory defined benefit (pension) plan covering certain current and former U.S. employees. The plans for salaried and hourly employees currently in effect is based on a formula using the participant’s years of service and compensation or using the participant’s years of service and a dollar amount. The plan is closed to new participants and pay for active plan participants for benefit calculations was frozen as of December 31, 2007. As of January 31, 2018, the plan no longer accrued benefits associated with crediting employees for service, thereby freezing all future benefits under the plan.

In addition to providing pension benefits, the Company provides postretirement life insurance and health care benefits for certain groups of employees. Tredegar and retirees share in the cost of postretirement health care benefits, with employees hired on or before January 1, 1993, receiving a fixed subsidy to cover a portion of their health care premiums. The Company eliminated prescription drug coverage for Medicare-eligible retirees as of January 1, 2006. Consequently, Tredegar is not eligible for any federal subsidies.

The following tables reconcile the changes in benefit obligations and plan assets in 2019 and 2018, and reconcile the funded status to prepaid or accrued cost at December 31, 2019 and 2018:



	Pension Benefits						Other Post- Retirement Benefits
(In thousands)	2019			2018			2019			2018
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation, beginning of year	$	287,240		$	318,123		$	6,889		$	7,704
Service cost	—			17			26			36
Interest cost	12,222			11,442			290			271
Effect of actuarial (gains) losses related to the following:
Discount rate change	38,919			(23,653		)	894			(546		)
Retirement rate assumptions and mortality table adjustments	(2,589		)	(914		)	21			6
Other	(1,047		)	(2,326		)	(176		)	(285		)
Plan participant contributions	—			—			649			656
Benefits paid	(15,982		)	(15,449		)	(943		)	(953		)
Benefit obligation, end of year	$	318,763		$	287,240		$	7,650		$	6,889
Change in plan assets:
Plan assets at fair value, beginning of year	$	205,367		$	226,354		$	—		$	—
Actual return on plan assets	20,624			(14,148		)	—			—
Employer contributions	8,320			8,610			294			297
Plan participant contributions	—			—			649			656
Benefits paid	(15,982		)	(15,449		)	(943		)	(953		)
Plan assets at fair value, end of year	$	218,329		$	205,367		$	—		$	—
Funded status of the plans	$	(100,434	)	$	(81,873	)	$	(7,650	)	$	(6,889	)
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets:
Accrued expenses (current)	$	168		$	182		$	470		$	456
Pension and other postretirement benefit obligations, net	100,266			81,691			7,180			6,433
Net amount recognized	$	100,434		$	81,873		$	7,650		$	6,889

Assumptions used for financial reporting purposes to compute net benefit income or cost and benefit obligations for continuing operations, and the components of net periodic benefit income or cost for continuing operations, are as follows:



	Pension Benefits									Other Post- Retirement Benefits
(In thousands, except percentages)	2019			2018			2017			2019			2018			2017
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations:
Discount rate	3.27		%	4.40		%	3.72		%	3.25		%	4.37		%	3.69		%
Expected long-term return on plan assets	5.00		%	6.00		%	6.50		%	n/a			n/a			n/a
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost:
Discount rate	4.40		%	3.72		%	4.29		%	4.37		%	3.69		%	4.24		%
Expected long-term return on plan assets	6.00		%	6.50		%	6.50		%	n/a			n/a			n/a
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost	$	—		$	17		$	194		$	26		$	36		$	33
Interest cost	12,222			11,442			12,575			290			271			301
Expected return on plan assets	(13,528		)	(15,011		)	(14,955		)	—			—			—
Amortization of prior service costs and gains or losses	10,891			13,894			12,320			(258		)	(243		)	(275		)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	9,585		$	10,342		$	10,134		$	58		$	64		$	59

Net benefit income or cost is determined using assumptions at the beginning of each year. Funded status is determined using assumptions at the end of each year. The amount of the accumulated benefit obligation is the same as the projected benefit obligation. At December 31, 2019, the effect of a 1% change in the health care cost trend rate assumptions would not impact the post-retirement obligation.

Expected benefit payments for continuing operations over the next five years and in the aggregate for 2025-2029 are as follows:



(In thousands)	Pension Benefits		Other Post- Retirement Benefits
2020	$	17,162	$	470
2021	17,524		473
2022	17,895		473
2023	18,088		468
2024	18,325		463
2025—2029	91,383		2,202

Amounts recorded in 2019, 2018 and 2017 in accumulated other comprehensive income, before related deferred income taxes, consist of:



	Pension						Other Post-Retirement
(In thousands)	2019		2018		2017		2019			2018			2017
Prior service cost (benefit)	$	—	$	—	$	5	$	—		$	—		$	—
Net actuarial (gain) loss	150,047		132,751		144,377		(824		)	(1,821		)	(1,238		)

Pension expense is expected to be $14.2 million in 2020. The amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income, before related deferred income taxes, that are expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit or cost during 2020 are as follows:



(In thousands)	Pension		Other Post- Retirement
Prior service cost (benefit)	$	—	$	—
Net actuarial (gain) loss	15,254		(188		)

The percentage composition of assets held by pension plans for continuing operations at December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 are as follows:



	% Composition of Plan Assets at December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Pension plans related to continuing operations:
Fixed income securities	8.7	%	8.6	%	7.7	%
Large/mid-capitalization equity securities	21.3		18.2		19.0
Small-capitalization equity securities	7.8		6.8		6.4
International and emerging market equity securities	19.7		16.0		15.1
Total equity securities	48.8		41.0		40.5
Private equity and hedge funds	35.0		42.3		44.6
Other assets	7.5		8.1		7.2
Total for continuing operations	100.0	%	100.0	%	100.0	%

Tredegar’s targeted allocation percentage for pension plan assets and the expected long-term rate of return on assets used to determine its benefit obligation at December 31, 2019, are as follows:



	Target % Composition of Plan Assets *		Expected Long-term Return %
Pension plans related to continuing operations:
Fixed income securities	12.0	%	2.0	%
Large/mid-capitalization equity securities	27.0		5.8
Small-capitalization equity securities	8.0		6.9
International and emerging market equity securities	20.0		5.8
Total equity securities	55.0		6.0
Private equity and hedge funds	33.0		4.5
Total for continuing operations	100.0	%	5.0	%
* Target percentages for the composition of plan assets represents a neutral position within the approved range of allocations for such assets.

Expected long-term returns are estimated by asset class and generally are based on inflation-adjusted historical returns, volatilities, risk premiums and managed asset premiums. The portfolio of fixed income securities is structured with maturities that generally match estimated benefit payments over the next 1-2 years. The other assets category is primarily comprised of cash and contracts with insurance companies. The Company’s primary investment objective is to maximize total return with a strong emphasis on the preservation of capital, and it believes that over the long-term a diversified portfolio of fixed income securities, equity securities, hedge funds and private equity funds has a better risk-return profile than fixed income securities alone. The average remaining duration of benefit payments for the pension plans is about 11.6 years. The Company expects its required contributions to be approximately $12.3 million in 2020.

Estimates of the fair value of assets held by the Company’s pension plan are provided by unaffiliated third parties. Investments in private equity and hedge funds and certain fixed income securities by the Company’s pension plan are measured at NAV, which is a practical expedient for measuring fair value. These assets are therefore excluded from the fair value hierarchy for each of the years presented. At December 31, 2019 and 2018, the pension plan assets are categorized by level within the fair value measurement hierarchy as follows:



(In thousands)	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Balances at December 31, 2019
Large/mid-capitalization equity securities	$	46,440	$	46,440	$	—	$	—
Small-capitalization equity securities	17,135		17,135		—		—
International and emerging market equity securities	43,079		19,117		23,962		—
Fixed income securities	18,911		6,209		12,702		—
Contracts with insurance companies	8,840		—		—		8,840
Other assets	7,585		7,585		—		—
Total plan assets at fair value	$	141,990	$	96,486	$	36,664	$	8,840
Private equity and hedge funds	76,339
Total plan assets, December 31, 2019	$	218,329
Balances at December 31, 2018
Large/mid-capitalization equity securities	$	37,323	$	37,323	$	—	$	—
Small-capitalization equity securities	13,880		13,880		—		—
International and emerging market equity securities	32,931		13,389		19,542		—
Fixed income securities	17,769		5,886		11,883		—
Contracts with insurance companies	9,899		—		—		9,899
Other assets	6,779		6,779		—		—
Total plan assets at fair value	$	118,581	$	77,257	$	31,425	$	9,899
Private equity and hedge funds	86,786
Total plan assets, December 31, 2018	$	205,367

Tredegar also has a non-qualified supplemental pension plan covering certain employees. Effective December 31, 2005, further participation in this plan was terminated and benefit accruals for existing participants were frozen. The plan was designed to restore all or a part of the pension benefits that would have been payable to designated participants from the principal pension plans if it were not for limitations imposed by income tax regulations. The projected benefit obligation relating to this unfunded plan was $2.2 million at December 31, 2019 and $2.0 million at December 31, 2018. Pension expense recognized for this plan was $0.1 million in 2019, $0.1 million in 2018 and $0.1 million in 2017. This information has been included in the preceding pension benefit tables.

Approximately 70 employees at PE Films’ manufacturing facility in Kerkrade, The Netherlands are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that includes participation in a multi-employer pension plan. Pension expense recognized for participation in this plan, which is equal to required contributions, was $0.3 million in 2019, $0.4 million in 2018 and $0.4 million in 2017. This information has been excluded from the preceding pension benefit tables.