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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 defined benefit pension plan for union-only employees of our Alkali Business. We account for the Alkali Business pension plan as a single employer pension plan that benefits only employees of our Alkali Business, and thus, the related assets and liability costs of the plan are recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Under the Alkali Business pension plan, each eligible employee will automatically become a participant upon completion of one year of credited service. Retirement benefits under this plan are calculated based on the total years of service of an eligible participant, multiplied by a specified benefit rate in effect at the termination of the plan participant's years of service.
The change in benefit obligations, plan assets and funded status along with amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets are as follows:
December 31,
20212020
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit Obligation, beginning of year$52,510 $42,291 
Service Cost6,020 5,493 
Interest Cost1,576 1,469 
Actuarial Loss (Gain)(3,051)4,005 
Benefits Paid(1,121)(748)
Benefit Obligation, end of year55,934 52,510 
Change in plan assets:
Fair Value of Plan Assets, beginning of year32,043 24,051 
Actual Return on Plan Assets2,051 4,123 
Employer Contributions2,315 4,617 
Benefits Paid(1,121)(748)
Fair Value of Plan assets, end of year35,288 32,043 
Funded Status at end of period$(20,646)$(20,467)
Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets:
Non-current assets$— $— 
Current liabilities— — 
Non-current Liabilities(20,646)(20,467)
Net Liability at end of year$(20,646)$(20,467)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss:
Prior Service Cost5,189 5,676 
Net actuarial loss418 3,689 
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss:$5,607 $9,365 
Estimated Future Cash Flows- The following employer contributions and benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, are expected to be paid as follows:
Employer Contributions
Expected 2022 Contributions by Employer$2,436 
Future Expected Benefit Payments
2022$1,265 
20231,450 
20241,620 
20251,796 
20261,983 
2027-203112,319 

Net Periodic Pension Costs- The components of net periodic pension costs for the Alkali benefit plan are as follows:
December 31,
202120202019
Service Cost$6,020 $5,493 $4,351 
Interest Cost1,576 1,469 1,340 
Expected Return on Assets(1,831)(1,539)(1,252)
Amortization of Prior Service Cost487 487 406 
Total Net Periodic Benefit Costs $6,252 $5,910 $4,845 

Significant Assumptions - Discount rates are determined annually and are based on rates of return of high-quality long-term fixed income securities currently available and expected to be available during the maturity of the pension benefits.
The long-term rate of return estimation for the Alkali Business pension plan is based on a capital asset pricing model using historical data and a forecasted earnings model. An expected return on plan assets analysis is performed which incorporates the current portfolio allocation, historical asset-class returns and an assessment of expected future performance using asset-class risk factors.
The Alkali Business pension plan is administered by a Board-appointed committee that has fiduciary responsibility for the plan's management. The committee is responsible for the oversight and management of the plan's investments. The committee maintains an investment policy that provides guidelines for selection and retention of investment managers or funds, allocation of plan assets and performance review procedures and updating of the policy. The objective of the committee's investment policy is to manage the plan assets in such a way that will allow for the on-going payment of the Company's obligation to the beneficiaries.
Weighted average assumptions used to determine benefit obligation:December 31, 2021December 31, 2020
Discount Rate3.27 %3.06 %
Expected Long-term Rate of Return5.35 %5.47 %
Rate of Compensation IncreaseN/AN/A
The discount rate used to determine the net periodic cost at the beginning of the period was 3.06%.
Pension Plan Assets - We maintain target allocation percentages among various asset classes based on an investment policy established for the pension plan, which was last amended in November 2020. The target allocation is designed based on the strategic objectives, spending policy and risk tolerance of the plan. Pension plan asset allocations at December 31, 2021 by asset category are as follows:
December 31, 2021
Target %MinimumMaximum
Equity securities67 %58 %76 %
Fixed Income20 %11 %29 %
Alternative Investments11 %2 %20 %
Cash and Equivalents2 %— %7 %

A summary of total investments for our pension plan assets measured at fair value is presented as of December 31 for the periods below:
20212020
Level 1Level 2Level 3TotalLevel 1Level 2Level 3Total
Cash and cash equivalents$2,989 $— $— $2,989 $32,043 $— $— $32,043 
Equity securities25,309 — — 25,309 — — — — 
Fixed income and other securities6,990 — — 6,990 — — — — 
$35,288 $— $— $35,288 $32,043 $— $— $32,043 
As identified above, all of our plan assets as of December 31, 2020 were held in cash and equivalents. On January 1, 2021 we switched the trustee of our plan assets and the investment advisors for our plan assets, also modifying our investment advisor fiduciary services from a 3(21) to a 3(38) which allows the advisors more investment discretion. In order to prepare for this switch, we had to move our investments to cash and equivalents on December 31, 2020.