Retirement Benefit Plan

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Retirement Benefit Plan

13. Retirement Benefit Plan

The Company’s principal retirement benefit plan is the Parsons Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”), a stock bonus plan, established in 1975 to cover eligible employees of the Company and certain affiliated companies. Contributions of treasury stock to the ESOP are made annually in amounts determined by the Company’s board of directors and are held in trust for the sole benefit of the participants. Shares allocated to a participant’s account are fully vested after three years of credited service, or in the event(s) of reaching age 65, death or disability while an active employee of the Company. As of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, total shares of the Company’s common stock were 100,669,694 and 100,669,694, respectively, of which 78,398,520 and 78,896,806, respectively, were held by the ESOP.

A participant’s interest in their ESOP account is redeemable upon certain events, including retirement, death, termination due to permanent disability, a severe financial hardship following termination of employment, certain conflicts of interest following termination of employment, or the exercise of diversification rights.  Distributions from the ESOP of participants’ interests are made in the Company’s common stock based on quoted prices of a share of the Company’s common stock on the NYSE.  A participant will be able to sell such shares of common stock in the market, subject to any requirements of the federal securities laws.

Total ESOP contribution expense was $14.9 million and $12.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019, respectively.  The expense is recorded in “Direct costs of contracts” and “Indirect, general and administrative expense” in the consolidated statements of income. The fiscal 2020 ESOP contribution has not yet been made.  The amount is currently included in accrued liabilities.

  On April 3, 2019, the board of directors of the Company declared a cash dividend to the Company’s sole existing shareholder at that time, the ESOP, in the amount of $2.00 per share, or $52.1 million in the aggregate (the “IPO Dividend”). The IPO Dividend was paid on May 10, 2019. On April 15, 2019, the board of directors of the Company declared a common stock dividend in a ratio of two shares of common stock for every one share of common stock then

held by the Company’s shareholder (the “Stock Dividend”). The record date of the Stock Dividend was May 7, 2019, the day immediately prior to the consummation of the Company’s IPO on May 8, 2019, and the payment date of the Stock Dividend was May 8, 2019. Purchasers of the Company’s common stock in the Company’s public offering were not entitled to receive any portion of the Stock Dividend.