Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

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,
	2023		2022
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit Obligation, beginning of year	$	42,065	$	55,934
Service Cost	3,119		5,181
Interest Cost	2,205		1,804
Actuarial Gain (Loss)	1,358		(19,557)
Benefits Paid	(1,449)		(1,297)
Benefit Obligation, end of year	47,298		42,065
Change in plan assets:
Fair Value of Plan Assets, beginning of year	30,073		35,288
Actual Return on Plan Assets	5,270		(6,363)
Employer Contributions	3,100		2,445
Benefits Paid	(1,449)		(1,297)
Fair Value of Plan assets, end of year	36,994		30,073
Funded Status at end of period	$	(10,304)	$	(11,992)
Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets:
Non-current assets	$	—	$	—
Current liabilities	—		—
Non-current Liabilities	(10,304)		(11,992)
Net Liability at end of year	$	(10,304)	$	(11,992)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income:
Prior Service Cost	4,215		4,702
Net actuarial gain	(12,196)		(10,816)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income:	$	(7,981)	$	(6,114)

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 2024 Contributions by Employer	$	4,488
Future Expected Benefit Payments
2024	$	1,436
2025	1,750
2026	1,898
2027	2,072
2028	2,220
2029-2033	13,166

Net Periodic Pension Costs

The components of net periodic pension costs for the Alkali benefit plan are as follows:

	December 31,
	2023		2022		2021
Service Cost	$	3,119	$	5,181	$	6,020
Interest Cost	2,205		1,804		1,576
Expected Return on Assets	(2,099)		(1,959)		(1,831)
Amortization of Prior Service Cost	487		487		487
Actuarial Gain	(434)		—		—
Total Net Periodic Benefit Costs	$	3,278	$	5,513	$	6,252

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, 2023		December 31, 2022
Discount Rate	5.16	%	5.33	%
Expected Long-term Rate of Return	6.69	%	6.71	%
Rate of Compensation Increase	N/A		N/A

The discount rate used to determine the net periodic cost at the beginning of the period was 5.33%.

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, 2023 by asset category are as follows:

December 31, 2023
	Target %		Minimum		Maximum
Equity securities	67	%	58	%	76	%
Fixed Income	20	%	11	%	29	%
Alternative Investments	11	%	2	%	20	%
Cash and Equivalents	2	%	—	%	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:

	2023								2022
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash and cash equivalents	$	5,212	$	—	$	—	$	5,212	$	4,592	$	—	$	—	$	4,592
Equity securities	24,612		—		—		24,612		20,838		—		—		20,838
Fixed income and other securities	7,170		—		—		7,170		4,643		—		—		4,643
	$	36,994	$	—	$	—	$	36,994	$	30,073	$	—	$	—	$	30,073