BENEFIT PLANS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Benefit Plans

BENEFIT PLANS

Qualified and Non-qualified Defined Benefit Plans

Retirement Plans (collectively, the "Defined Benefit Plans")

The Company sponsors a non-contributory qualified defined benefit cash balance retirement plan (the "Pension Plan") for the benefit of certain non-union employees, as well as certain employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement in Brooklyn.

The Company maintains an unfunded non-contributory non-qualified defined benefit excess cash balance plan ("Excess Cash Balance Plan") covering certain current and former employees who participate in the Pension Plan.

Cablevision's Pension Plan and the Excess Cash Balance Plan are frozen and no employee who was not already a participant could participate in the plans and no further annual Pay Credits (a certain percentage of employees' eligible pay) are made.  Existing account balances under the plans continue to be credited with monthly interest in accordance with the terms of the plans.

Plan Results for Defined Benefit Plans

Summarized below is the funded status and the amounts recorded on the Company's consolidated balance sheets for all of the Company's Defined Benefit Plans at December 31, 2019 and 2018:

	December 31,
	2019		2018
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	264,515	$	299,066
Interest cost	9,227		9,248
Actuarial gain	(743)		(9,894)
Settlements/curtailments	1,875		2,373
Benefits paid	(27,112)		(36,278)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year	247,762		264,515
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	167,510		195,768
Actual gain (loss) on plan assets, net	15,892		(5,705)
Employer contributions	34,107		13,725
Benefits paid	(27,112)		(36,278)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	190,397		167,510
Unfunded status at end of year	$	(57,365)	$	(97,005)

The accumulated benefit obligation for the Company's Defined Benefit Plans aggregated $247,762 and $264,515 at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The Company's net funded status relating to its Defined Benefit Plans at December 31, 2019 and 2018, is as follows:

	December 31,
	2019		2018
Defined Benefit Plans	$	(57,365)	$	(97,005)
Less: Current portion related to nonqualified plans	175		211
Long-term defined benefit plan obligations	$	(57,190)	$	(96,794)

Components of the benefit costs, recorded in other income (expense), net, for the Defined Benefit Plans for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, is as follows:

	Years Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Interest cost	$	9,227	$	9,248	$	11,786
Expected return on plan assets, net	(2,685)		(987)		(4,905)
Curtailment loss	—		—		3,137
Amortization of actuarial loss (reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss)	89		—		—
Settlement loss (reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss) (a)	1,643		1,268		1,845
Non-operating pension costs	$	8,274	$	9,529	$	11,863

(a)As a result of benefit payments to terminated or retired individuals exceeding the service and interest costs for the Pension Plan and the Excess Cash Balance Pension Plan during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, the Company recognized non-cash settlement losses that represent the acceleration of the recognition of a portion of the previously unrecognized actuarial losses recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets relating to these plans.

Plan Assumptions for Defined Benefit Plans

Weighted-average assumptions used to determine pension costs (made at the beginning of the year) and benefit obligations (made at the end of the year) for the Defined Benefit Plans are as follows:

	Benefit Costs						Benefit Obligations at December 31,
	For the Year Ended December 31, 2019		For the Year Ended December 31, 2018		For the Year Ended December 31, 2017		2019		2018
Discount rate (a)	3.70	%	3.87	%	3.69	%	3.10	%	4.20	%
Rate of increase in future compensation levels	—	%	—	%	—	%	—	%	—	%
Expected rate of return on plan assets (Pension Plan only)	3.97	%	3.67	%	3.90	%	N/A		N/A

(a)The discount rates of 3.70%, 3.87% and 3.69% for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, represent the average of the quarterly discount rates used to remeasure the Company's projected benefit obligation and benefit costs in connection with the recognition of settlement losses discussed above.

The discount rate used by the Company in calculating the benefit costs for the Cash Balance Plan and the Excess Cash Balance Plan was determined based on the expected future benefit payments for the plans and from the Willis Towers Watson U.S. Rate Link: 40-90 Discount Rate Model. The model was developed by examining the yields on selected highly rated corporate bonds.

The Company's expected long-term return on Pension Plan assets is based on a periodic review and modeling of the plan's asset allocation structure over a long-term horizon.  Expectations of returns and risk for each asset class are the most important of the assumptions used in the review and modeling and are based on comprehensive reviews of historical data, forward looking economic outlook, and economic/financial market theory.  The expected long-term rate of return was chosen as a best estimate and was determined by (a) historical real returns, net of inflation, for the asset classes covered by the investment policy, and (b) projections of inflation over the long-term period during which benefits are payable to plan participants. 

Pension Plan Assets and Investment Policy

The weighted average asset allocations of the Pension Plan at December 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:

	Plan Assets at December 31,
	2019		2018
Asset Class:
Mutual funds- fixed income	28	%	29	%
Common collective trust- equities	27		—
Fixed income securities	44		65
Cash equivalents and other	1		6
	100	%	100	%

The Pension Plan's investment objectives include an allocation to stocks and bonds.  This allocation allows for the Pension Plan to invest in asset classes that are expected to provide a rate of return throughout economic cycles, commensurate with the investment risk and cash flow needs of the Pension Plan. The investments held in the Pension Plan are readily marketable and can be sold to fund benefit payment obligations of the plan as they become payable.

Investment allocation decisions are formally made by the Company's Benefit Committee, which takes into account investment advice provided by its external investment consultant.  The investment consultant takes into account expected long-term risk, return, correlation, and other prudent investment assumptions when recommending asset classes and investment managers to the Company's Benefit Committee. The major categories of the Pension Plan assets are bonds and equity funds which are marked-to-market on a daily basis.  Due to the Pension Plan's holdings in intermediate and long-term government and non-government fixed income securities, the Pension Plan's assets are subjected to interest rate risk; specifically, during a rising interest rate environment the prices of bond holdings will decline. An increase in interest rates may cause a decrease to the overall liability of the Pension Plan thus creating a partial hedge against rising interest rates. In addition, a portion of the Pension Plan's equity and bond portfolio are invested in foreign equity and debt securities in developed and emerging markets where there could be foreign

currency risks associated with them; non-government debt securities may be subject to credit risk of the bond issuer defaulting on interest and/or principal payments as well. 

Investments at Estimated Fair Value

The fair values of the assets of the Pension Plan at December 31, 2019 by asset class are as follows:

Asset Class	Level I		Level II		Level III		Total
Mutual funds- fixed income	$	52,976	$	—	$	—	$	52,976
Common collective trust- equities	—		52,214		—		52,214
Fixed income securities held in a portfolio:
Foreign issued corporate debt	—		7,472		—		7,472
U.S. corporate debt	—		30,267		—		30,267
Government debt	—		2,836		—		2,836
U.S. Treasury securities	—		32,902		—		32,902
Asset-backed securities	—		9,375		—		9,375
Other	—		840		—		840
Cash equivalents (a)	2,188		3,278		—		5,466
Total (b)	$	55,164	$	139,184	$	—	$	194,348

(a)A significant portion represents an investment in a short-term investment fund that invests primarily in securities of high quality and low risk.

(b)Excludes cash and net receivables relating to the sale of securities that were not settled as of December 31, 2019.

The fair values of the assets of the Pension Plan at December 31, 2018 by asset class are as follows:

Asset Class	Level I		Level II		Level III		Total
Mutual funds- fixed income	$	49,140	$	—	$	—	$	49,140
Fixed income securities held in a portfolio:
Foreign issued corporate debt	—		14,002		—		14,002
U.S. corporate debt	—		43,190		—		43,190
Government debt	—		3,988		—		3,988
U.S. Treasury securities	—		38,657		—		38,657
Asset-backed securities	—		8,907		—		8,907
Other	—		205		—		205
Cash equivalents (a)	4,343		3,187		—		7,530
Total (b)	$	53,483	$	112,136	$	—	$	165,619

(a)A significant portion represents an investment in a short-term investment fund that invests primarily in securities of high quality and low risk.

(b)Excludes cash and net payables relating to the purchase of securities that were not settled as of December 31, 2018.

The fair values of mutual funds and cash equivalents were derived from quoted market prices that the Pension Plan administrator has the ability to access.

The fair values of corporate and government debt, treasury securities and asset-back securities were derived from bids received from a vendor or broker not available in an active market that the Pension Plan administrator has the ability to access.

Benefit Payments and Contributions for Defined Benefit Plans

The following benefit payments are expected to be paid during the periods indicated:

2020	$	16,500
2021	16,023
2022	16,349
2023	18,209
2024	17,706
2025-2029	83,159

The Company currently expects to contribute approximately $13,300 to the Pension Plan in 2020. 

Defined Contribution Plans 

The Company maintains the Altice USA 401(k) Savings Plan, a contributory qualified defined contribution plan for the benefit of certain non-union employees.  Participants can contribute a percentage of eligible annual compensation and the Company will make a matching cash contribution or discretionary contribution, as defined in the plan.  In addition, the Company maintains an unfunded non-qualified Excess Savings Plan which was frozen on January 1, 2017 for which the Company provided a matching contribution similar to the Altice USA 401(k) Savings Plan.  Applicable employees of the Company are also eligible for an enhanced employer matching contribution to the Cablevision 401(k) Savings Plan.

The cost associated with these plans, was $28,540, $28,232 and $27,577 for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.