Pensions

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Pensions

Pensions

The Company maintains pension obligations associated with non-contributory defined benefit pension plans that are currently frozen and incur no additional service costs.

The Company immediately recognizes actuarial gains and losses in its operating results in the period in which the gains and losses occur. The Company estimates the interest cost component of net periodic pension cost by utilizing a full yield curve approach and applying the specific spot rates along the yield curve used in the determination of the benefit obligations of the relevant projected cash flows. This method provides a more precise measurement of interest costs by improving the correlation between projected cash flows to the corresponding spot yield curve rates.

Net Periodic Pension Cost

The following table details the other components of net periodic pension cost for the Company's pension plans:

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(in thousands)	2022		2021		2022		2021
Interest cost	$	3,624	$	2,617	$	10,460	$	7,851
Expected return on assets	(3,224)		(2,890)		(10,201)		(8,670)
Settlement loss (gain)	62		—		(328)		(15)
Remeasurement loss (gain)	3,466		—		(5,226)		(164)
Net periodic pension cost (benefit)	$	3,928	$	(273)	$	(5,295)	$	(998)

Since all pension plans are frozen and no employees accrue future pension benefits under any of the pension plans, the rate of compensation increase assumption is no longer needed. The Company determines the weighted-average discount rate by applying a yield curve comprised of the yields on several hundred high-quality, fixed income corporate bonds available on the measurement date to expected future benefit cash flows.

During the three months ended September 30, 2022, the Company recognized a settlement loss of $0.1 million, and as a result of an interim actuarial valuation due to a settlement in one of the Company's pension plans, the Company recognized a remeasurement loss of $3.5 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company recognized a settlement gain of $0.3 million, and as a result of an interim actuarial valuation due to settlements in one of the Company's pension plans, the Company recognized a remeasurement gain of $5.2 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company recognized a settlement loss of less than $0.1 million and a remeasurement gain of $0.2 million. During the three months ended September 30, 2021, the Company did not recognize a settlement gain or a remeasurement gain.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company made cash contributions of $7.5 million and $22.5 million, respectively, to the qualified plans and contributions and associated payments of $0.1 million and $0.4 million, respectively, to the non-qualified plans. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company made cash contributions of $5.0 million and $20.0 million, respectively, to the qualified plans, and contributions and associated payments of $0.2 million and $1.0 million, respectively, to the non-qualified plans.

For the fiscal year 2022, the Company expects to contribute approximately $30.0 million to the qualified plans and approximately $0.8 million to the non-qualified plans.