The First American Financial Corporation 401(k) Savings Plan (the “Savings Plan”) allows for employee-elective contributions up to the maximum amount as determined by the Internal Revenue Code. The Company makes discretionary contributions to the Savings Plan based on profitability, as well as the contributions of participants. The Savings Plan held 2.0 million shares and 2.2 million shares of the Company’s common stock, representing 1.8% and 1.9% of the Company’s total common shares outstanding at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Effective July 1, 2015, participants in the Savings Plan can no longer make additional investments in common stock of the Company.

The Company maintains a deferred compensation plan for certain employees that allows participants to defer up to 100% of their salary, commissions and certain bonuses. Participants can allocate their deferrals among a variety of investment crediting options (known as “deemed investments”). The term deemed investments means that the participant has no ownership interest in the funds they select; the funds are only used to measure the gains or losses that will be attributed to each participant’s deferral account over time. Participants can elect to have their deferral balance paid out while they are still employed or after their employment ends. The deferred compensation plan is exempt from most provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) because it is only available to a select group of management and highly compensated employees and is not a qualified employee benefit plan. To preserve the tax-deferred savings advantages of a nonqualified deferred compensation plan, federal law requires that it be unfunded or informally funded. Participant deferrals, and any earnings on those deferrals, are general unsecured obligations of the Company. The Company informally funds the deferred compensation plan through a tax-advantaged investment known as variable universal life insurance. Deferred compensation plan assets are held as an asset of the Company within a special trust, known as a “Rabbi Trust.” At December 31, 2019 and 2018, the value of the assets held in the Rabbi Trust of $103.5 million and $86.5 million, respectively, and the unfunded liabilities of $115.1 million and $94.3 million, respectively, were included in the consolidated balance sheets in other assets and pension costs and other retirement plans, respectively.

The Company also has nonqualified, unfunded supplemental benefit plans covering certain management personnel. The Executive and Management Supplemental Benefit Plans, subject to certain limitations, provide participants with maximum benefits of 30% and 15%, respectively, of average annual compensation over a fixed five year period. Effective January 1, 2011, the plans were closed to new participants.

Certain of the Company’s subsidiaries have separate savings and employee benefit plans. Expenses related to these plans and the Company’s deferred compensation plan are included in the table below under “other plans, net”.

	Year ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
	(in thousands)
Expense:
Savings plan	$	60,416	$	46,208	$	34,520
Funded defined benefit pension plans		—		—		162,368
Unfunded supplemental benefit plans		8,989		9,248		12,705
Other plans, net		23,917		2,794		17,595
	$	93,322	$	58,250	$	227,188

During 2017, the Company recognized settlement costs related to the termination of its funded defined benefit pension plans.

The following table summarizes the benefit obligations and funded status associated with the Company’s unfunded supplemental benefit plans:

	December 31,
	2019			2018
	(in thousands)
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	236,773		$	258,528
Service costs		282			519
Interest costs		9,116			8,079
Actuarial losses (gains)		27,034			(16,517	)
Benefits paid		(14,412	)		(13,836	)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year		258,793			236,773
Change in plan assets:
Contributions		14,412			13,836
Benefits paid		(14,412	)		(13,836	)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year		—			—
Reconciliation of funded status:
Unfunded status of the plans	$	258,793		$	236,773
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet:
Accrued benefit liability	$	258,793		$	236,773
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss:
Unrecognized net actuarial loss	$	103,624		$	80,251
Unrecognized prior service credit		(4,180	)		(8,250	)
	$	99,444		$	72,001
Accumulated benefit obligation at end of year	$	258,793		$	236,773

Net periodic benefit costs related to the Company’s unfunded supplemental benefit and funded defined benefit pension plans included the following components:

	Year ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
	(in thousands)
Expense:
Service costs	$	282		$	519		$	734
Interest costs		9,116			8,079			13,261
Expected return on plan assets		—			—			(4,740	)
Amortization of net actuarial loss		3,661			4,828			17,742
Amortization of prior service credit		(4,070	)		(4,178	)		(4,312	)
Settlement costs		—			—			152,388
	$	8,989		$	9,248		$	175,073

Net actuarial loss and prior service credit for the unfunded supplemental benefit plans expected to be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic cost over the next fiscal year include an expense of $5.3 million and a credit of $3.1 million, respectively.

The weighted-average discount rate assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit costs for the Company’s unfunded supplemental benefits plans for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, were as follows:

	Year ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Discount rate for projected benefit obligation		4.32	%		3.61	%		4.03	%
Discount rate for service cost		4.55	%		3.78	%		4.32	%
Discount rate for interest cost		4.00	%		3.23	%		3.43	%

The weighted-average discount rate assumption used to determine the projected benefit obligation for the Company’s unfunded supplemental benefits plans at December 31, 2019 and 2018, was as follows:

The discount rate assumptions used for the Company’s benefit plans reflect the yield available on high-quality, fixed-income debt securities that match the expected timing of the benefit obligation payments.

The Company expects to make cash contributions of $15.5 million to its unfunded supplemental benefit plans during 2020.

Benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be made as follows: