15. OTHER LIABILITIES

Other liabilities consist of the following:


	As at		As at
	December 31,		December 31,
	2019		2018
Pension benefit obligations	$	40,490	$	32,881
Other		20,512		9,738
Total other liabilities	$	61,002	$	42,619

Pension Benefit Obligations

The Company provides the Executives Plan for certain current and former senior officers and the Retirement Program for eligible employees, which are both considered defined benefit plans under IAS 19 - Employee Benefits. The funded status of the plans are based on actuarial valuations performed as at December 31, 2019. The plans operate under similar regulatory frameworks and generally face similar risks.

The Executives Plan pension formula is based on final average earnings in excess of the amounts payable from the registered plan. Assets for the Executives Plan consist of deposits on hand with regulatory authorities that are refundable when benefit payments are made or on the ultimate wind-up of the plan.

The Company provides a Retirement Program for certain eligible employees that provides a lump-sum payment upon retirement. The payment is based on age and length of service at retirement. An eligible employee is entitled to a benefit if they have completed at least 10 years of service as a permanent employee and are 57 years of age or older. The Retirement Program is not funded.

The funded status of the Company's defined benefit obligations relating to the Company’s Executives Plan and Retirement Program for 2019 and 2018, is as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018
Reconciliation of plan assets:
Plan assets, beginning of year	$	2,363	$	2,457
Employer contributions		862		1,037
Benefit payments		(643)		(819)
Administrative expenses		(109)		(109)
Interest on assets		93		79
Net return on assets excluding interest		(93)		(79)
Effect of exchange rate changes		121		(203)
Plan assets, end of year	$	2,594	$	2,363

Reconciliation of defined benefit obligation:
Defined benefit obligation, beginning of year	$	23,032		24,243
Current service cost		1,020		975
Benefit payments		(672)		(819)
Interest cost		889		758
Actuarial losses (gains) arising from changes in economic assumptions		1,989		(1,188)
Actuarial losses arising from changes in demographic assumptions		2,033		1,277
Actuarial gains arising from Plan experience		(251)		(226)
Effect of exchange rate changes		1,296		(1,988)
Defined benefit obligation, end of year		29,336		23,032
Net defined benefit liability, end of year	$	26,742	$	20,669

The components of Agnico Eagle’s pension expense recognized in the consolidated statements of net income (loss) relating to the Executives Plan and the Retirement Program are as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018
Current service cost	$	1,020	$	975
Administrative expenses		109		109
Interest cost on defined benefit obligation		889		758
Interest on assets		(93)		(79)
Pension expense	$	1,925	$	1,763

The remeasurements of the net defined benefit liability recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) relating to the Company's Executives Plan and the Retirement Program are as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018
Actuarial losses (gains) relating to the defined benefit obligation	$	3,771	$	(137)
Net return on assets excluding interest		93		79
Total remeasurements of the net defined benefit liability	$	3,864	$	(58)

In 2020, the Company expects to make contributions of $1.5 million and benefit payments of $1.4 million, in aggregate, related to the Executives Plan and the Retirement Program. The weighted average duration of the Company’s defined benefit obligation is 12.4 years at December 31, 2019 (2018 – 5.8 years).

The following table sets out significant assumptions used in measuring the Company’s Executives Plan defined benefit obligations:


	As at December 31,
	2019		2018
Assumptions:
Discount rate - beginning of year	3.8	%	3.3	%
Discount rate - end of year	3.0	%	3.8	%

The following table sets out significant assumptions used in measuring the Company's Retirement Program defined benefit obligations:


	As at December 31,
	2019		2018
Assumptions:
Discount rate - beginning of year	3.5	%	3.0	%
Discount rate - end of year	2.8	%	3.5	%
Range of mine closure dates	2026 - 2032		2019 - 2032
Termination of employment per annum	0.50% - 3.25	%	0.53% - 2.58	%

Other significant actuarial assumptions used in measuring the Company's Retirement Program defined benefit obligations as at December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 include assumptions of the expected retirement age of participants.

The following table sets out the effect of changes in significant actuarial assumptions on the Company's Executives Plan and Retirement Program defined benefit obligations:


	As at
		December 31,
		2019
Change in assumption:
0.5% increase in discount rate	$	(1,352)
0.5% decrease in discount rate	$	1,470

The summary of the effect of changes in significant actuarial assumptions was prepared using the same methods and actuarial assumptions as those used for the calculation of the Company's defined benefit obligation related to the Executives Plan and the Retirement Program as at the end of the fiscal year, except for the change in the single actuarial assumption being evaluated. The modification of several actuarial assumptions at the same time could lead to different results.

Other Plans

In addition to its defined benefit pension plans, the Company maintains the Basic Plan and the Supplemental Plan. Under the Basic Plan, Agnico Eagle contributes 5.0% of certain employees’ base employment compensation to a defined contribution plan. In 2019, $13.3 million (2018 - $12.6 million) was contributed to the Basic Plan, $0.2 million of which related to contributions for key management personnel (2018 - $0.2 million). The Company also maintains the Supplemental Plan for designated executives at the level of Vice‑President or above. The Supplemental Plan is funded by the Company through notional contributions equal to 10.0% of the designated executive’s earnings for the year (including salary and short-term bonus). In 2019, the Company made $1.5 million (2018 - $1.6 million) in notional contributions to the Supplemental Plan, $1.0 million (2018 - $1.0 million) of which related to contributions for key management personnel. The Company’s liability related to the Supplemental Plan is $11.5 million at December 31, 2019 (2018 - $8.8 million). At retirement date, the notional account balance is converted to a pension payable in five annual installments.