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Employee Benefit Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans Employee Benefit Plans
We sponsor a noncontributory defined benefit pension plan and non-qualified Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans ("SERPs"). Both the defined benefit plan and the SERPs have frozen the accrual of future benefits.
We sponsor a defined contribution plan covering substantially all non-union and certain union employees. We match a portion of employees' voluntary contributions to this plan.
Other union-represented employees are covered by defined benefit pension plans jointly sponsored by us and the union, or by union-sponsored multi-employer plans.
We use a December 31 measurement date for our retirement plans. Retirement plans expense is based on valuations as of the beginning of each year.
The components of the expense consisted of the following:
 For the years ended December 31,
(in thousands)202120202019
Interest cost$16,465 $19,799 $23,287 
Expected return on plan assets, net of expenses(23,235)(21,016)(19,974)
Amortization of actuarial loss and prior service cost6,210 4,672 2,622 
Total for defined benefit plans(560)3,455 5,935 
Multi-employer plans— 5 132 
SERPs903 933 1,018 
Defined contribution plan14,394 14,074 10,494 
Net periodic benefit cost14,737 18,467 17,579 
Allocated to discontinued operations— (522)(447)
Net periodic benefit cost - continuing operations$14,737 $17,945 $17,132 

Other changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) were as follows:
 For the years ended December 31,
(in thousands)202120202019
Actuarial gain/(loss)$27,318 $(5,296)$(5,478)
Amortization of actuarial loss and prior service cost6,210 4,672 2,622 
Total$33,528 $(624)$(2,856)

In addition to the amounts summarized above, amortization of actuarial losses related to our SERPs recognized through other comprehensive income was $0.3 million, $0.3 million and $0.2 million in 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We recognized an actuarial gain for our SERPs of $0.3 million in 2021 and actuarial losses of $1.0 million and $1.9 million in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Assumptions used in determining the annual retirement plans expense were as follows:
202120202019
Discount rate2.64 %3.40%4.38%
Long-term rate of return on plan assets5.50 %5.50 %5.50 %
The discount rate used to determine our future pension obligations is based on a dedicated bond portfolio approach that includes securities rated Aa or better with maturities matching our expected benefit payments from the plans.
The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is based upon the weighted-average expected rate of return and capital market forecasts for each asset class employed.
Changes in other key actuarial assumptions affect the determination of the benefit obligations as of the measurement date and the calculation of net periodic benefit costs in subsequent periods.
Obligations and Funded Status — The defined benefit pension plan obligations and funded status are actuarially valued as of the end of each year. The following table presents information about our employee benefit plan assets and obligations:
 Defined Benefit PlanSERPs
 For the years ended December 31,
(in thousands)2021202020212020
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year$637,165 $593,591 $18,890 $18,541 
Interest cost16,465 19,799 473 586 
Benefits paid(31,616)(31,576)(1,028)(1,236)
Actuarial (gains)/losses(18,705)55,351 (312)999 
Projected benefit obligation at end of year603,309 637,165 18,023 18,890 
Plan assets:
Fair value at beginning of year492,827 420,699 — — 
Actual return on plan assets31,848 71,071 — — 
Company contributions24,089 32,633 1,028 1,236 
Benefits paid(31,616)(31,576)(1,028)(1,236)
Fair value at end of year517,148 492,827 — — 
Funded status$(86,161)$(144,338)$(18,023)$(18,890)
Amounts recognized in Consolidated Balance Sheets:
Current liabilities$— $— $(1,353)$(1,383)
Noncurrent liabilities(86,161)(144,338)(16,670)(17,507)
Total$(86,161)$(144,338)$(18,023)$(18,890)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss consist of:
  Net actuarial loss$90,197 $123,707 $7,364 $7,999 
  Prior service cost370 388 — — 

During 2021, net actuarial gains decreased our benefit obligation primarily due to a year-over-year increase in the discount rate assumption, whereas in 2020, net actuarial losses increased our benefit obligation primarily due to a year-over-year decrease in the discount rate assumption. The recognized actuarial gains/losses are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and are reflected in the table above.

Information for plans with an accumulated benefit obligation and projected benefit obligation in excess of plan assets was as follows:
 Defined Benefit PlanSERPs
 As of December 31,
(in thousands)2021202020212020
Accumulated benefit obligation$603,309 $637,165 $18,023 $18,890 
Projected benefit obligation603,309 637,165 18,023 18,890 
Fair value of plan assets517,148 492,827 — — 

Assumptions used to determine the defined benefit pension plan benefit obligation were as follows:
202120202019
Weighted average discount rate2.95 %2.64 %3.40 %

In 2022, we expect to contribute $1.4 million to fund our SERPs and $25.0 million to fund our qualified defined benefit pension plan.
Estimated future benefit payments expected to be paid from the plans for the next ten years are $32.9 million in 2022, $33.4 million in 2023, $34.0 million in 2024, $34.6 million in 2025, $34.9 million in 2026 and a total of $177.1 million for the five years ending 2031.
Plan Assets and Investment Strategy
Our long-term investment strategy for pension assets is to earn a rate of return over time that minimizes future contributions to the plan while reducing the volatility of pension assets relative to pension liabilities. The strategy reflects the fact that we have frozen the accrual of service credits under our plans which cover the majority of employees. We evaluate our asset allocation target ranges for equity, fixed income and other investments annually. We monitor actual asset allocations quarterly and adjust as necessary. We control risk through diversification among multiple asset classes, managers and styles. Risk is further monitored at the manager and asset class level by evaluating performance against appropriate benchmarks.
Information related to our pension plan asset allocations by asset category were as follows:
Target
allocation		Percentage of plan assets
as of December 31,
 202220212020
US equity securities15 %15 %16 %
Non-US equity securities30 %35 %39 %
Fixed-income securities50 %49 %44 %
Other5 %1 %1 %
Total100 %100 %100 %
U.S. equity securities include common stocks of large, medium and small capitalization companies, which are predominantly U.S. based. Non-U.S. equity securities include companies domiciled outside of the U.S. and American depository receipts. Fixed-income securities include securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, mortgage backed securities and corporate debt obligations. Other investments include real estate funds and cash equivalents.
Under our asset allocation strategy, approximately 50% of plan assets are invested in a portfolio of fixed income securities with a duration approximately that of the projected payment of benefit obligations. The remaining 50% of plan assets are invested in equity securities and other return-seeking assets. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is based primarily upon the target asset allocation for plan assets and capital markets forecasts for each asset class employed.

The following table presents our plan assets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020:
As of December 31,
(in thousands)20212020
Equity securities
Common/collective trust funds$261,810 $274,810 
Fixed income
Common/collective trust funds252,731 215,444 
Cash equivalents2,607 2,573 
Fair value of plan assets$517,148 $492,827 

Our investments are valued using net asset value as a practical expedient as allowed under U.S. GAAP and therefore are not valued using the fair value hierarchy.
Equity securities-common/collective trust funds and fixed income-common/collective trust funds are comprised of shares or units in commingled funds that are not publicly traded. The underlying assets in these funds (equity securities and fixed income securities) are publicly traded on exchanges and price quotes for the assets held by these funds are readily available. Common/collective trust funds are typically valued at their net asset values that are calculated by the investment manager or sponsor of the fund and have daily or monthly liquidity.