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Postretirement Benefits
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Postretirement Benefits
Note 10—Postretirement Benefits

Globe Life has qualified noncontributory defined benefit pension plans (Pension Plans) and contributory savings plans that cover substantially all employees. There is also a nonqualified noncontributory supplemental executive retirement plan (SERP) that covers a limited number of officers. The tables included herein will focus on the Pension Plans and SERP.
The total cost of these retirement plans charged to operations was as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
202420232022
Plan Type:
Defined Contribution Plans(1)
$6,605 $6,390 $5,824 
Defined Benefit Pension Plans(2)
16,458 15,225 37,040 
(1)401K plans.
(2)Qualified pension plans and SERP.
 
Globe Life accrues expense for the defined contribution plans based on a percentage of the employees’ contributions. The plans are funded by the employee contributions and a Globe Life contribution equal to the amount of accrued expense. Plan contributions are both mandatory and discretionary, depending on the terms of the plan.
 
Pension Plans: Cost for the Pension Plans has been calculated on the projected unit credit actuarial cost method. All plan measurements for the pension plans are as of December 31 of the respective year. The pension plans covering the majority of employees are qualified and funded. Contributions are made to funded pension plans subject to minimums required by regulation and maximums allowed for tax purposes.

Globe Life's SERP provides an additional supplemental defined pension benefit to a limited number of officers. The supplemental benefit is based on the participant’s qualified plan benefit without consideration to the regulatory limits on compensation and benefit payments applicable to qualified plans, except that eligible compensation is capped at $1 million. The SERP is nonqualified and unfunded. However, a Rabbi Trust has been established to support the liability for this plan. The Rabbi Trust consists of life insurance policies on the lives of plan participants with an unaffiliated insurance carrier as well as an investment account. Since this plan is nonqualified, the investments and the policyholder value of the insurance policies in the Rabbi Trust are not included as defined benefit plan assets, but rather assets of the Company. They are included in “Other Assets” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Defined benefit and SERP plan contributions were $24.8 million in 2024, $24.4 million in 2023, and $29.8 million in 2022. In 2025, the Company does not expect to increase contributions to the plans from what was contributed in 2024.
Pension Assets: Plan assets in the funded plans consist primarily of investments in marketable fixed maturities and equity securities that are valued at fair value. Globe Life measures the fair value of its financial assets, including the assets in its benefit plans, in accordance with accounting guidance which establishes a hierarchy for asset values and provides a methodology for the measurement of value. Please refer to Note 1—Significant Accounting Policies under the caption Fair Value Measurements, Investments in Securities for a complete discussion of valuation procedures.

The following table presents the assets of the Company's Pension Plans at December 31, 2024 and 2023:
Pension Assets by Component at December 31, 2024

 Fair Value Determined by:  
 
Quoted Prices in
Active Markets
for Identical
Assets (Level 1)
Significant
Observable
Inputs (Level 2)
Significant
Unobservable
Inputs (Level 3)
Total
Amount
% of
Total
Exchange traded fund(4)
$35,483 $— $— $35,483 6 
Equity exchange traded fund(1)
322,846 — — 322,846 53 
U.S. Government and Agency— 179,418 — 179,418 29 
Other bonds— 4 — 4 — 
Guaranteed annuity contract(2)
— 43,893 — 43,893 7 
Short-term investments1,235 — — 1,235 — 
Other1,420 — — 1,420 — 
$360,984 $223,315 $— 584,299 95 
Other long-term investments(3)
30,546 5 
Total pension assets
$614,845 100 
(1)A fund including marketable securities that mirror the S&P 500 index.
(2)Representing a guaranteed annuity contract issued by Globe Life Inc.'s subsidiary, American Income Life Insurance Company, to fund the obligations of the American Income Life Insurance Company Collective Bargaining Agreement Employees Pension Plan.
(3)Includes non-redeemable investment funds that report the Globe Life Inc. Pension Plan's pro-rata share of the limited partnership's net asset value (NAV) per share, or its equivalent, as a practical expedient for fair value. As of December 31, 2024, the Globe Life Inc. Pension Plan owned less than 1% of two long-term investment funds.
(4)A fund including U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade securities issued by industrial, utility, and financial companies with maturities greater than 10 years.
Pension Assets by Component at December 31, 2023
 Fair Value Determined by:  

Quoted Prices in
Active Markets
for Identical
Assets (Level 1)
Significant
Observable
Inputs (Level 2)
Significant
Unobservable
Inputs (Level 3)
Total
Amount
% of
Total
Exchange traded fund(4)
$18,715 $— $— $18,715 3 
Equity exchange traded fund(1)
315,886 — — 315,886 55 
U.S. Government and Agency— 167,450 — 167,450 30 
Other bonds— 5 — 5 — 
Guaranteed annuity contract(2)
— 43,428 — 43,428 8 
Short-term investments6,506 — — 6,506 1 
Other463 — — 463 — 
$341,570 $210,883 $— 552,453 97 
Other long-term investments(3)
18,314 3 
Total pension assets
$570,767 100 
(1)A fund including marketable securities that mirror the S&P 500 index.
(2)Representing a guaranteed annuity contract issued by Globe Life Inc.'s subsidiary, American Income Life Insurance Company, to fund the obligations of the American Income Life Insurance Company Collective Bargaining Agreement Employees Pension Plan.
(3)Includes non-redeemable investment funds that report the Globe Life Inc. Pension Plan's pro-rata share of the limited partnership's net asset value (NAV) per share, or its equivalent, as a practical expedient for fair value. As of December 31, 2023, the Globe Life Inc. Pension Plan owned less than 1% of two long-term investment funds.
(4)A fund including U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade securities issued by industrial, utility, and financial companies with maturities greater than 10 years.
Globe Life's investment objectives and goals for its plan assets include generating strong risk-adjusted returns, maintaining diversification, investing in accordance with the liabilities of the plan, and satisfying the liquidity needs of the plan. Globe Life seeks to accomplish these objectives by investing in public and private markets and diversifying across asset classes, industries, sectors, and entities. Globe Life intends to maintain an asset mix that when combined with future plan contributions will produce adequate long-term risk adjusted returns relative to expected changes in the liability as a result of changes to interest rates or earned benefits.
 
The majority of the securities in the portfolio are highly marketable so that there will be adequate liquidity to meet projected payments. There are no specific policies calling for asset durations to match those of benefit obligations.

Allowed investments include equity, fixed income, real assets, and short-term investments. Equity securities include common stocks or equivalents, preferred stocks, and/or funds investing primarily in private or public equity investments. Fixed income securities include loans of corporations or commercial real estate as well as marketable debt securities issued by either the U.S. Government, Agencies of the U.S. Government, state, local and municipal governments, domestic and foreign corporations, Special Purpose Vehicles secured by pools of financial assets, and other U.S. financial institutions. Real Assets include equity interest in core or non-core real estate or infrastructure with U.S. or non-U.S. exposure. Short-term investments consist of fixed income securities maturing in one year or less.

The assets are to be invested in a mix of allowed investments that best serve the objectives of the pension plan. Factors to be considered in determining the asset mix include funded status, annual pension expense, annual pension contributions, and balance sheet liability. The investment portfolio is well diversified to avoid undue exposure to an asset class, sector, industry, business, or security. The Company does not employ any other special risk management techniques, such as derivatives, in managing the pension investment portfolio.

Globe Life's public equity within the pension plan assets consists of an exchange traded fund that mirrors the S&P 500 index which better aligns with a passive approach rather than an actively managed portfolio.
At December 31, 2024, there were no restricted investments contained in the portfolio. Plan contributions have been invested primarily in fixed maturity and equity securities during the three years ended December 31, 2024.

The following table presents additional information about the Company's investment funds included in pension plan assets as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 at fair value:
Fair Value
Unfunded Commitments(2)
Investment Category202420232024
Redemption Term/Notice(1)
Multi-asset class$12,383 $14,714 $— Non-redeemable
Private equity18,163 3,600 48,167 Non-redeemable
Total
$30,546 $18,314 $48,167 
(1) Non-redeemable funds generally have an expected life of 7 to 10 years from fund closing with extension options of 2 to 4 years. Redemptions are paid out throughout the life of the funds at the General Partner's discretion.
(2) Unfunded commitments include unfunded balances during the investment period. After an investment period ends, the fund can call capital based on limited and specified reasons. As of December 31, 2024, unfunded commitments totaled $57.5 million, including funds past the investment period.
SERP: The following tables include premiums paid for COLI for the three years ended December 31, 2024 and investments of the Rabbi Trust for the two years ended December 31, 2024:

Year Ended December 31,
202420232022
Premiums paid for insurance coverage$443 $443 $443 
At December 31,
20242023
Total investments:
COLI$57,210 $55,185 
Exchange traded funds98,314 86,156 
$155,524 $141,341 
Pension Plans and SERP Liabilities: The following table presents the projected benefit obligation (PBO) and accumulated benefit obligation (ABO) for the Pension Plans and SERP at December 31, 2024 and 2023:
December 31,
20242023
PBOABOPBOABO
Pension plans$561,615 $500,010 $554,957 $493,040 
SERP73,441 68,428 72,603 69,332 
Benefit obligation
$635,056 $568,438 $627,560 $562,372 

For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Pension Plans have plan assets with fair values in excess of projected benefit obligations. The projected benefit obligations and the fair value of plan assets were as follows:
At December 31,
20242023
Funded benefit pension plans PBO$561,615 $554,957 
Funded benefit pension plans fair value of plan assets614,845 570,767 
For the year ended December 31, 2024, the funded benefit pension plans have plan assets with fair value in excess of the accumulated benefit obligations. The accumulated benefit obligations and the fair value of plan assets were as follows:
At December 31,
20242023
Funded benefit pension plans ABO$500,010 $493,040 
Funded benefit pension plans fair value of plan assets614,845 570,767 

The following table discloses the assumptions used to determine Globe Life's pension liabilities and costs for the appropriate periods. The discount and compensation increase rates are used to determine current year projected benefit obligations and subsequent year pension expense. The long-term rate of return is used to determine current year expense. Differences between assumptions and actual experience are included in actuarial gain or loss.

Weighted Average Pension Plan Assumptions
For Benefit Obligations at December 31:20242023
Discount rate5.81 %5.40 %
Rate of compensation increase4.46 4.40 
For Periodic Benefit Cost for the Year:202420232022
Discount rate5.40 %5.71 %3.19 %
Expected long-term returns7.18 6.98 6.98 
Rate of compensation increase4.40 4.40 4.43 

The discount rate is determined based on the expected duration of plan liabilities. A yield is then derived based on the current market yield of a hypothetical portfolio of high quality corporate bonds that match the liability's average life. The rate of compensation increase is projected based on Company experience, modified as appropriate for future expectations. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is management’s best estimate of the average rate of earnings expected to be received on the assets invested in the plan over the benefit period. In determining this assumption, consideration is given to the historical rate of return earned on the assets, the projected returns over future periods, and the discount rate used to compute benefit obligations.
Net Periodic Benefit Cost: The following table presents the net periodic benefit cost for the defined benefit plans by expense component for the three years ended December 31, 2024 as follows:

Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost
 Year Ended December 31,
 202420232022
Service cost—benefits earned during the period$24,898 $21,568 $34,624 
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation33,123 31,367 24,445 
Expected return on assets(42,580)(38,625)(35,539)
Amortization of prior service cost (credit)1,071 1,075 1,077 
Recognition of actuarial gain (loss)(54)(160)12,433 
Net periodic benefit cost
$16,458 $15,225 $37,040 
An analysis of the impact on other comprehensive income (loss) concerning pensions and other postretirement benefits is as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
202420232022
Balance at January 1
$(2,727)$1,570 $(131,239)
Amortization of:
Prior service cost (credit)1,071 1,075 1,077 
Net actuarial (gain) loss(1)
(597)(1,465)12,677 
Total amortization474 (390)13,754 
Plan amendments(1,212)— — 
Experience gain (loss)(2)
29,659 (3,907)119,055 
Balance at December 31
$26,194 $(2,727)$1,570 
(1)Includes amortization of postretirement benefits other than pensions of $(622) thousand in 2024, $(732) thousand in 2023, and $289 thousand in 2022. 
(2)The increase in the experience gain (loss) is related to an increase in discount rate.
The following table presents a reconciliation from the beginning to the end of the year of the PBO for the Pension Plans and SERP, and the plan assets for the Pension Plans. This table also presents the amounts previously recognized as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income.

Pension Benefits
Year Ended December 31,
20242023
Changes in PBO:
PBO at beginning of year$627,560 $562,567 
Service cost24,898 21,568 
Interest cost33,123 31,367 
Plan amendments1,212 — 
Actuarial loss (gain)(22,964)40,569 
Benefits paid(28,773)(28,511)
PBO at end of year635,056 627,560 
Changes in plan assets:
Fair value at beginning of year570,767 499,775 
Return on assets48,084 75,062 
Contributions24,767 24,441 
Benefits paid(28,773)(28,511)
Fair value at end of year614,845 570,767 
Funded status at year end
$(20,211)$(56,793)

Changes in the PBO related to actuarial losses (gains) are primarily attributed to changes in the discount rate.

Year Ended December 31,
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income consist of:20242023
Net loss (gain)$(28,720)$(227)
Prior service cost6,636 6,494 
Net amounts recognized at year end$(22,084)$6,267 
Globe Life has estimated its expected postretirement benefits to be paid over the next ten years as of December 31, 2024. These estimates use the same assumptions that measure the benefit obligation at December 31, 2024, taking estimated future employee service into account. Those estimated benefits are as follows:
For the year(s): 
2025$31,035 
202633,565 
202736,259 
202839,032 
202941,865 
2030-2034243,598