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Employee Benefit Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans Employee Benefit Plans
Defined Contribution 401(k) Plans
We sponsor a 401(k) defined contribution plan for all our employees. The plan allows the employees to make annual voluntary contributions not to exceed the lesser of an amount equal to 25% of their compensation or limits established by the Internal Revenue Code. Under this plan, we generally provide a match equal to 50% of the employee’s contributions up to the first 6% of compensation, except for union employees who are not eligible to receive the match. Our provision for matching and profit sharing contributions for the three years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020 was $2.9 million, $2.8 million, and $2.6 million, respectively.
Pension Plan and LaBarge Retirement Plan
We have a defined benefit pension plan covering certain hourly employees of a subsidiary (the “Pension Plan”). Pension Plan benefits are generally determined on the basis of the retiree’s age and length of service. Assets of the Pension Plan are composed primarily of fixed income and equity securities. We also have a retirement plan covering certain current and retired employees (the “LaBarge Retirement Plan”).
The consolidation of one of our performance centers as part of the 2022 Restructuring Plan as discussed in Note 2 resulted in the curtailment of the Pension Plan during the fourth quarter of 2022, but it had an immaterial impact on our consolidated financial statements.
The components of net periodic pension cost for the Pension Plan and LaBarge Retirement Plan in aggregate are as follows:
(In thousands)
Years Ended December 31,
202220212020
Service cost$625 $676 $622 
Interest cost1,089 1,010 1,209 
Expected return on plan assets(2,081)(1,895)(1,761)
Amortization of actuarial losses585 1,285 993 
Net periodic pension cost$218 $1,076 $1,063 
The components of the reclassifications of net actuarial losses from accumulated other comprehensive loss to net income for 2022 were as follows:
(In thousands)
Year Ended December 31,
2022
Amortization of actuarial loss - total before tax (1)
$585 
Tax benefit(143)
Net of tax$442 
(1)The amortization expense is included in the computation of periodic pension cost and is a decrease to net income upon reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive loss.
The estimated net actuarial loss for both plans that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic cost during 2023 is $0.6 million.
The obligations, fair value of plan assets, and funded status of both plans are as follows:
(In thousands)
December 31,
20222021
Change in benefit obligation(1)
Beginning benefit obligation (January 1)$39,805 $42,804 
Service cost625 676 
Interest cost1,089 1,010 
Actuarial gain(9,714)(2,537)
Benefits paid(1,468)(2,148)
Ending benefit obligation (December 31)$30,337 $39,805 
Change in plan assets
Beginning fair value of plan assets (January 1)$33,698 $30,632 
Return on assets(4,652)3,122 
Employer contribution1,702 2,095 
Benefits paid(1,468)(2,151)
Ending fair value of plan assets (December 31)$29,280 $33,698 
Funded status underfunded$(1,057)$(6,107)
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet
Current liabilities$416 $427 
Non-current liabilities$641 $5,680 
Unrecognized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss
Beginning unrecognized loss, before tax (January 1)$7,573 $12,620 
Amortization(582)(1,282)
Liability gain(9,714)(2,537)
Asset loss (gain)6,734 (1,228)
Ending unrecognized loss, before tax (December 31)4,011 7,573 
Tax impact(970)(1,827)
Unrecognized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax$3,041 $5,746 

(1)Projected benefit obligation equals the accumulated benefit obligation for the plans.
On December 31, 2022, our annual measurement date, the accumulated benefit obligation exceeded the fair value of the plans assets by $1.1 million. Such excess is referred to as an unfunded accumulated benefit obligation. We recorded an unrecognized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax at December 31, 2022 and 2021 of $3.0 million and $5.7 million, respectively, which decreased shareholders’ equity. This charge to shareholders’ equity represents a net loss not yet recognized as pension expense. This charge did not affect reported earnings, and would be decreased or be eliminated if either interest rates increase or market performance and plan returns improve which will cause the Pension Plan to return to fully funded status.
Our Pension Plan asset allocations at December 31, 2022 and 2021, by asset category, were as follows:
December 31,
20222021
Equity securities61%69%
Cash and equivalents4%1%
Debt securities35%30%
Total(1)
100%100%

(1)Our overall investment strategy is to achieve an asset allocation within the following ranges to achieve an appropriate rate of return relative to risk.
Cash
0-10%
Fixed income securities
15-75%
Equities
30-80%
Pension Plan assets consist primarily of listed stocks and bonds and do not include any of the Company’s securities. The return on assets assumption reflects the average rate of return expected on funds invested or to be invested to provide for the benefits included in the projected benefit obligation. We select the return on asset assumption by considering our current and target asset allocation. We consider information from various external investment managers, forward-looking information regarding expected returns by asset class and our own judgment when determining the expected returns.
(In thousands)
Year Ended December 31, 2022
Level 1Level 2Level 3Total
Cash and cash equivalents$1,078 $— $— $1,078 
Fixed income securities4,622 — — 4,622 
Equities(1)
12,591 — — 12,591 
Other investments1,033 — — 1,033 
Total plan assets at fair value$19,324 $— $— 19,324 
Pooled funds9,956 
Total fair value of plan assets$29,280 
(In thousands)
Year Ended December 31, 2021
Level 1Level 2Level 3Total
Cash and cash equivalents$414 $— $— $414 
Fixed income securities3,648 — — 3,648 
Equities(1)
7,446 — — 7,446 
Other investments1,199 — — 1,199 
Total plan assets at fair value$12,707 $— $— 12,707 
Pooled funds20,991 
Total fair value of plan assets$33,698 

(1)Represents mutual funds and commingled accounts which invest primarily in equities, but may also hold fixed income securities, cash and other investments. Commingled funds with publicly quoted prices and actively traded are classified as Level 1 investments.
Pooled funds are measured using the net asset value (“NAV”) as a practical expedient for fair value as permissible under the accounting standard for fair value measurements and have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy in accordance with ASU 2015-07, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosures for Investments in Certain Entities That Calculate Net Asset Value per Share (or Its Equivalent).” Pooled fund NAVs are provided by the trustee and are determined by reference to the fair value of the underlying securities of the trust, less its liabilities, which are valued primarily through the use of directly or indirectly observable inputs. Depending on the pooled fund, underlying securities may include marketable equity securities or fixed income securities.
The assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations and expense for our two plans are presented in the tables below. The expected long-term return on assets, noted below, represents an estimate of long-term returns on investment portfolios consisting of a mixture of fixed income and equity securities. The estimated cash flows from the plans for all future years are determined based on the plans’ population at the measurement date. We used the expected benefit payouts from the plans for each year into the future and discounted them back to the present using the Wells Fargo yield curve rate for that duration.
The weighted-average assumptions used to determine the net periodic benefit costs under the two plans were as follows:
Years Ended December 31,
202220212020
Discount rate used to determine pension expense
Pension Plan2.85%2.50%3.22%
LaBarge Retirement Plan2.35%1.85%2.85%
The weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations under the two plans were as follows:
December 31,
202220212020
Discount rate used to determine value of obligations
Pension Plan5.11%2.85%2.50%
LaBarge Retirement Plan5.00%2.35%1.85%
Long-term rate of return - Pension Plan only6.25%6.25%6.25%
The following benefit payments under both plans, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid:
(In thousands)
Pension PlanLaBarge
Retirement
Plan
2023$1,379 $416 
2024$1,481 $397 
2025$1,555 $378 
2026$1,639 $359 
2027$1,712 $341 
2028 - 2032$9,156 $1,435 
Our funding policy is to contribute cash to our plans so that the minimum contribution requirements established by government funding and taxing authorities are met. We expect to make contributions of $0.8 million to the plans in 2023.
Supplemental Retirement Plans
We have three unfunded supplemental retirement plans. The first plan was suspended in 1986, but continues to cover certain former executives. The second plan was suspended in 1997, but continues to cover certain current and retired directors. The third plan covers certain current and retired employees and further employee contributions to this plan were suspended on August 5, 2011. The liability for the third plan and interest thereon is included in accrued employee compensation and long-term liabilities were both zero at December 31, 2022, and both zero at December 31, 2021. The accumulated benefit obligations of the first two plans at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 were both $0.3 million, and are included in accrued liabilities.