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Retirement Benefits
 12 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2023
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Retirement Benefits Retirement Benefits
Defined Benefit Plans
The Company has non-contributory defined benefit pension plans covering some of its domestic employees. These plans were amended as of April 30, 2005, no further benefits have been, or will be, earned under the plans subsequent to the amendment date, and no additional participants will be added to the plans. The defined benefit plan for salaried employees provides pension benefits that are based on each employee's years of service and average annual compensation during the last ten consecutive calendar years of employment as of April 30, 2005. The benefit plan for hourly employees provides benefits at stated amounts based on years of service as of April 30, 2005. The Company uses an April 30 measurement date for its defined benefit plans.
The change in projected benefit obligations and the change in fair value of plan assets for the non-contributory defined benefit pension plans for each of the years ended April 30 are summarized as follows:
$ in thousands20232022
Accumulated Benefit Obligation, April 30$18,368 $20,022 
Change in Projected Benefit Obligations
Projected benefit obligations, beginning of year$20,022 $22,942 
Interest cost845 710 
Actuarial loss(1,113)(2,218)
Actual benefits paid(1,386)(1,412)
Projected benefit obligations, end of year$18,368 $20,022 
Change in Plan Assets
Fair value of plan assets, beginning of year$18,867 $21,459 
Actual return on plan assets251 (1,180)
Employer contributions— — 
Actual benefits paid(1,386)(1,412)
Fair value of plan assets, end of year$17,732 $18,867 
Funded status—under$(636)$(1,155)
Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets consist of:
Non-current liabilities$(636)$(1,155)
Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Consist of:
Net actual loss$4,526 $5,116 
Deferred tax benefit(1,064)(1,202)
After-tax actuarial loss$3,462 $3,914 
Weighted-Average Assumptions Used to Determine Benefit Obligations at April 30
Discount rate5.10 %4.40 %
Rate of compensation increaseN/AN/A
Mortality tablePri-2012Pri-2012
Projection scaleMP-2021MP-2020
Year Ended April 30,
Weighted-Average Assumptions Used to Determine Net Periodic Benefit Cost20232022
Discount rate5.10 %4.40 %
Expected long-term return on plan assets7.75 %7.75 %
Rate of compensation increaseN/AN/A
The components of the net periodic pension (income) expense for each of the fiscal years ended April 30 are as follows:
$ in thousands20232022
Interest cost$845 $710 
Expected return on plan assets(1,402)(1,604)
Recognition of net loss628 539 
Net periodic pension expense (income)$71 $(355)
The estimated net actuarial loss for the defined benefit pension plans that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income into net periodic benefit cost during fiscal year 2024 is $580,000.
The Company's funding policy is to contribute to the plans when pension laws and economics either require or encourage funding. The Company expects to make no contributions during fiscal year 2024. There were no contributions made to the plans in fiscal year 2023 or 2022.
The following benefit payments are expected to be paid from the benefit plans in the fiscal years ending April 30:
$ in thousandsAmount
2024$1,640 
20251,620 
20261,600 
20271,560 
20281,540 
2029- 20337,030 
The expected long-term portfolio return is established via a building block approach with proper consideration of diversification and rebalancing. Historical markets are studied and long-term historical relationships between equities and fixed-income securities are preserved consistent with the widely accepted capital market principle that assets with higher volatility generate a greater return over the long term. Current market factors such as inflation and interest rates are evaluated before long-term capital market assumptions are determined. Peer data and historical returns are also reviewed to check for reasonableness and appropriateness.
The Company uses a Yield Curve methodology to determine its GAAP discount rate. Under this approach, future benefit payment cash flows are projected from the pension plan on a projected benefit obligation basis. The payment stream is discounted to a present value using an interest rate applicable to the timing of each respective cash flow. The graph of these time-dependent interest rates is known as a yield curve. The interest rates comprising the Yield Curve are determined through a statistical analysis performed by the IRS and issued each month in the form of a pension discount curve. For this purpose, the universe of possible bonds consists of a set of bonds which are designated as corporate, have high quality ratings (AAA or AA) from nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, and have at least $250 million in par amount outstanding on at least one day during the reporting period. A 1% increase/decrease in the discount rate for fiscal years 2023 and 2022 would increase/decrease pension expense by approximately $231,000 and $271,000, respectively.
The Company uses a total return investment approach, whereby a mix of equities and fixed-income investments are used to attempt to maximize the long-term return on plan assets for a prudent level of risk. Risk tolerance is established through careful consideration of plan liabilities, plan funded status, and corporate financial condition. The investment portfolio contains a diversified blend of equity and fixed-income investments. Furthermore, equity investments are diversified across U.S. and non-U.S. stocks, as well as growth, value, and small and large capitalizations. The target allocations based on the Company's investment policy were 75% in equity securities and 25% in fixed-income securities at April 30, 2023 and April 30, 2022. A 1% increase/decrease in the expected return on assets for fiscal years 2023 and 2022 would increase/decrease pension expense by approximately $181,000 and $207,000, respectively.
Plan assets by asset categories as of April 30 were as follows:
$ in thousands20232022
Asset CategoryAmount%Amount%
Equity Securities$12,724 72 $13,856 73 
Fixed Income Securities4,845 27 4,703 25 
Cash and Cash Equivalents163 1 308 2 
Totals$17,732 100 $18,867 100 
The following tables present the fair value of the assets in the Company's defined benefit pension plans at April 30:
2023
Asset CategoryLevel 1Level 2Level 3
Large Cap$7,326 $— $— 
Small/Mid Cap2,326 — — 
International1,743 — — 
Emerging Markets702 — — 
Fixed Income4,845 — — 
Liquid Alternatives627 — — 
Cash and Cash Equivalents163 — — 
Totals$17,732 $— $— 
2022
Asset CategoryLevel 1Level 2Level 3
Large Cap$7,382 $— $— 
Small/Mid Cap2,775 — — 
International2,008 — — 
Emerging Markets794 — — 
Fixed Income4,703 — — 
Liquid Alternatives897 — — 
Cash and Cash Equivalents308 — — 
Totals$18,867 $— $— 
Level 1 retirement plan assets include United States currency held by a designated trustee and equity funds of common and preferred securities issued by domestic and foreign corporations. These equity funds are traded actively on exchanges and price quotes for these shares are readily available.
Defined Contribution Plan
The Company has a defined contribution plan covering substantially all domestic salaried and hourly employees. The plan provides benefits to all employees who have attained age 21, completed three months of service, and who elect to participate. The plan provides that the Company make matching contributions equal to 100% of the employee's qualifying contribution up to 3% of the employee's compensation, and make matching contributions equal to 50% of the employee's contributions between 3% and 5% of the employee's compensation, resulting in a maximum employer contribution equal to 4% of the employee's compensation. The Company's matching contributions were $932,000 and $967,000 for years ending April 30, 2023 and 2022. Additionally, the plan provides that the Company may elect to make a non-matching contribution for participants employed by the Company on December 31 of each year. The Company did not elect to make a non-matching contribution in fiscal years 2023 and 2022.