Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

Employee Benefit Plans

Pension Benefits

The Company has defined benefit pension plans covering a certain number of employees. The defined benefits for salaried employees generally are based on years of service and the employee's level of compensation during specified periods of employment. Defined benefit pension plans covering hourly employees generally provide benefits of stated amounts for each year of service. MEPPs in which the Company participates provide benefits to certain unionized employees. The Company's funding policy for qualified plans is consistent with statutory requirements. Periodic voluntary contributions are made, as recommended, by the Company's Pension Committee.

Accrued service is no longer granted to the U.S. defined benefit pension plans and a majority of international defined benefit pension plans due to the plans being frozen. In place of these plans, the Company has established defined contribution plans providing for the Company to contribute a specified matching amount for participating employees' contributions to the plan. For U.S. employees, this match is made on employee contributions up to 4% of eligible compensation. Additionally, the Company may provide a discretionary contribution for eligible employees. There have been no discretionary contributions provided for the years 2024, 2023 and 2022. For non-U.S. employees, this match is up to 6% of eligible compensation with an additional 2% going towards insurance and administrative costs.

Changes in the discount rate assumption and the actual performance of plan assets, compared with the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, are the primary drivers in the change in funded status of the Company's defined benefit pension plans. These factors are components of actuarial loss (gain) and impact the amount recognized in AOCI, as such actuarial changes are not reflected directly on the Consolidated Statements of Operations but amortized over time as permitted by U.S. GAAP.

NPPC for U.S. and international plans for 2024, 2023 and 2022 is as follows:

	U.S. Plans						International Plans
(In thousands)	2024		2023		2022		2024		2023		2022
Net Periodic Pension Cost (Income):
Defined benefit pension plans:
Service cost	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	1,322	$	1,245	$	2,029
Interest cost	9,676		10,173		5,716		29,409		30,220		16,637
Expected return on plan assets	(8,944)		(7,000)		(10,795)		(33,049)		(31,281)		(39,179)
Recognized prior service costs	—		—		—		492		520		534
Recognized losses	4,179		4,601		4,732		15,060		14,316		13,060
Settlement/curtailment loss (gain)	—		—		—		(1,125)		(42)		(33)
Defined benefit pension plan cost (income)	4,911		7,774		(347)		12,109		14,978		(6,952)
Multiemployer pension plans	570		595		642		1,241		1,209		1,114
Defined contribution plans	9,985		8,468		7,082		5,690		5,396		5,111
Net periodic pension cost (income)	$	15,466	$	16,837	$	7,377	$	19,040	$	21,583	$	(727)

The change in the financial status of the defined benefit pension plans and amounts recognized on the Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2024 and 2023 are as follows:

	U.S. Plans				International Plans
(In thousands)	2024		2023		2024		2023
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	209,177	$	209,182	$	642,648	$	598,302
Service cost	—		—		1,322		1,245
Interest cost	9,676		10,173		29,409		30,220
Plan participants' contributions	—		—		12		13
Amendments	—		—		—		74
Actuarial (gain) loss	(17,591)		5,736		(57,451)		17,896
Settlements/curtailments	—		—		(1,363)		(203)
Benefits paid	(14,867)		(15,914)		(36,691)		(36,705)
Effect of foreign currency	—		—		(15,803)		31,806
Benefit obligation at end of year	$	186,395	$	209,177	$	562,083	$	642,648
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	180,927	$	177,044	$	669,021	$	608,672
Actual return on plan assets	9,931		18,123		(20,357)		40,587
Employer contributions	7,301		1,674		14,778		24,715
Plan participants' contributions	—		—		12		13
Settlements/curtailments	—		—		(192)		(203)
Benefits paid	(14,867)		(15,914)		(36,691)		(36,705)
Effect of foreign currency	—		—		(14,904)		31,942
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	183,292	$	180,927	$	611,667	$	669,021
Funded status at end of year	$	(3,103)	$	(28,250)	$	49,584	$	26,373

Significant items impacting actuarial gains and losses for 2024 for U.S. plans included the actual return on the fair value of plan assets since the prior measurement date was greater than assumed, which caused the funded position to improve; an increase in the discount rate used to measure the benefit obligation compared with the prior year, which caused the funded position to improve; and actuarial gains resulting from demographic changes such as mortality, which improved the funded position.

Significant items impacting actuarial gains and losses for 2024 for U.K. plans included an increase in the discount rate used to measure the benefit obligation compared with the prior year, which caused the funded position to improve; and the actual return on the fair value of plan assets since the prior measurement date was less than assumed, which caused the funded position to deteriorate.

Amounts recognized on the Consolidated Balance Sheets for defined benefit pension plans consist of the following at December 31, 2024 and 2023:

	U.S. Plans				International Plans
	December 31				December 31
(In thousands)	2024		2023		2024		2023
Noncurrent assets	$	9,917	$	—	$	63,879	$	44,585
Current liabilities	1,713		1,832		507		726
Noncurrent liabilities	11,307		26,418		13,788		17,486
AOCI	72,260		95,016		332,026		358,631

Amounts recognized in AOCI for defined benefit pension plans consist of the following at December 31, 2024 and 2023:

	U.S. Plans				International Plans
(In thousands)	2024		2023		2024		2023
Net actuarial loss	$	72,260	$	95,016	$	324,661	$	350,469
Prior service cost	—		—		7,365		8,162
Total	$	72,260	$	95,016	$	332,026	$	358,631

The Company's estimate of expected contributions to be paid in 2025 for the U.S. and international defined benefit plans total $3.0 million and $0.8 million, respectively.

Future Benefit Payments

Expected benefit payments for defined benefit pension plans over the next ten years are as follows:

(In millions)	2025		2026		2027		2028		2029		2030-2034
U.S. Plans	$	19.7	$	15.6	$	15.4	$	15.2	$	15.0	$	71.5
International Plans	36.4		37.0		37.1		38.2		39.5		192.9

Net Periodic Pension Cost and Defined Benefit Pension Obligation Assumptions

The weighted-average actuarial assumptions used to determine the defined benefit pension plan NPPC for 2024, 2023 and 2022 were as follows:

	U.S. Plans December 31						International Plans December 31						Global Weighted-Average December 31
	2024		2023		2022		2024		2023		2022		2024		2023		2022
Discount rates	5.0	%	5.3	%	2.7	%	4.8	%	5.0	%	1.9	%	4.8	%	5.1	%	2.1	%
Expected long-term rates of return on plan assets	7.0	%	7.0	%	6.3	%	5.3	%	5.1	%	4.4	%	5.7	%	5.5	%	4.7	%

The expected long-term rates of return on defined benefit pension plan assets for the 2025 NPPC are 6.8% for the U.S. plans and 4.6% for the international plans. The expected global long-term rate of return on assets for 2025 is 5.1%.

The weighted-average actuarial assumptions used to determine the defined benefit pension plan obligations at December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:

	U.S. Plans				International Plans				Global Weighted-Average
	December 31				December 31				December 31
	2024		2023		2024		2023		2024		2023
Discount rates	5.5	%	5.0	%	5.4	%	4.8	%	5.5	%	4.8	%

Since accrued service is no longer granted to the U.S. defined benefit plans and the majority of the international defined benefit pension plans, the rate of compensation increase did not have a significant impact on the defined benefit pension obligation at December 31, 2024 and 2023 or the defined benefit pension plan NPPC for the years ended 2024, 2023 and 2022.

The U.S. discount rate was determined using a yield curve that was produced from a universe containing approximately 1,100 U.S. dollar-denominated, AA-graded corporate bonds, all of which were noncallable (or callable with make-whole provisions) and excluding the 10% of the bonds with the highest deviation from the expected yield and the 10% with the lowest deviation from the expected yield within each duration group. The discount rate was then developed as the level-equivalent rate that would produce the same present value as that using spot rates to discount the projected benefit payments. For international plans, the discount rate is aligned to corporate bond yields in the local markets, normally AA-rated corporations. The process and selection seek to approximate the cash inflows with the timing and amounts of the expected benefit payments.

Accumulated Benefit Obligation

The accumulated benefit obligation for all defined benefit pension plans at December 31, 2024 and 2023 was as follows:

	U.S. Plans				International Plans
	December 31				December 31
(In millions)	2024		2023		2024		2023
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	186.4	$	209.2	$	558.4	$	637.6

Defined Benefit Pension Plans with Accumulated Benefit Obligation in Excess of Plan Assets

The projected benefit obligation, accumulated benefit obligation and fair value of plan assets for defined benefit pension plans with accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets at December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:

	U.S. Plans				International Plans
	December 31				December 31
(In millions)	2024		2023		2024		2023
Projected benefit obligation	$	13.0	$	209.2	$	22.1	$	27.8
Accumulated benefit obligation	13.0		209.2		19.9		24.1
Fair value of plan assets	—		180.9		7.9		9.7

At December 31, 2024 and 2023, the asset allocations attributable to the Company's U.S. defined benefit pension plans and the long-term target allocation of plan assets, by asset category, are as follows:

	Target  Long-Term Allocation	Percentage of Plan Assets December 31
U.S. Plans Asset Category		2024		2023
Domestic equity securities	4%-14%	8.8	%	10.7	%
International equity securities	17%-27%	21.0	%	24.3	%
Fixed income securities	61%-71%	65.4	%	52.8	%
Cash and cash equivalents	Less than 5%	0.9	%	0.9	%
Other (a)	0%-8%	3.9	%	11.3	%

(a)    Investments within this caption include credit collection funds.

Defined benefit pension plan assets are allocated among various categories of equities, fixed income securities and cash and cash equivalents with professional investment managers whose performance is actively monitored. The primary investment objective is to meet present and future benefit obligations through a balanced investment approach to minimize volatility and risk. The Company periodically conducts an asset/liability modeling study and accordingly adjusts investments among and within asset categories to ensure the long-term investment strategy is aligned with the profile of benefit obligations.

The Company reviews the long-term expected return on asset assumption on a periodic basis considering a variety of factors including historical investment returns achieved over a long-term period, the targeted allocation of plan assets and future expectations based on a model of asset returns for an actively managed portfolio. The model simulates 1,000 different capital market results over 20 years. The expected return-on-asset assumption for U.S. defined benefit pension plans for 2025 and 2024 is 6.8% and 7.0%, respectively.

The U.S. defined benefit pension plans' assets include 310,000 shares at December 31, 2024 and 310,000 shares at December 31, 2023 of the Company's common stock, valued at $2.4 million and $2.8 million, respectively. These shares represented 1.3% and 1.5% of total U.S. plan assets at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

The asset allocations attributable to the Company's international defined benefit pension plans at December 31, 2024 and 2023 and the long-term target allocation of plan assets, by asset category, are as follows:

International Plans Asset Category	Target Long-Term Allocation		Percentage of Plan Assets December 31
			2024		2023
Equity securities	12.4	%	0.9	%	10.8	%
Fixed income securities	82.8	%	95.0	%	83.3	%
Cash and cash equivalents	—		1.8	%	0.5	%
Other (a)	4.8	%	2.3	%	5.4	%

(a)     Investments within this caption include diversified growth funds and real estate funds.

International defined benefit pension plan assets at December 31, 2024 in the U.K. defined benefit pension plan totaled approximately 94% of the international defined benefit pension plan assets. The U.K. plan assets are allocated among various categories of equities, fixed income securities and cash and cash equivalents with professional investment managers whose performance is actively monitored. The primary investment objective is to reduce investment risk and better protect the improved funding position in order to meet present and future benefit obligations. The Company periodically conducts asset/liability modeling studies and accordingly adjusts investment amounts within asset categories to ensure the long-term investment strategy is aligned with the profile of benefit obligations.

For the international long-term rate of return assumption, the Company considered the current level of expected returns in risk-free investments (primarily government bonds), the historical level of the risk premium associated with other asset classes in which the portfolio is invested, and the expectations for future returns of each asset class and plan expenses. The expected return for each asset class is then weighted based on the target asset allocation to develop the expected long-term rate of return on assets. The expected return on asset assumption for the U.K. defined benefit pension plan for 2025 and 2024 are 4.6% and 5.3%, respectively. The remaining international defined benefit pension plans, with plan assets representing approximately 6% of the international defined benefit pension plan assets, are under the guidance of professional investment managers and have similar investment objectives.

The fair values of the Company's U.S. defined benefit pension plans' assets at December 31, 2024 by asset class are as follows:

(In thousands)	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Investments Valued at Net Asset Value (a)
Domestic equities:
Common stocks	$	2,388	$	2,388	$	—	$	—
Mutual funds—equities	13,748		13,748		—		—
International equities:
Mutual funds—equities	38,398		38,398		—		—
Fixed income investments:
U.S. Treasuries and collateralized securities	15,673		—		15,673		—
Mutual funds—bonds	104,166		104,166		—		—
Cash and money market accounts	1,681		1,681		—		—
Other—partnerships/joint ventures	7,238		—		—		7,238
Total	$	183,292	$	160,381	$	15,673	$	7,238

(a)     Certain investments that are measured at fair value using Net Asset Value per share (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy.

The fair values of the Company's U.S. defined benefit pension plans' assets at December 31, 2023 by asset class are as follows:

(In thousands)	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Investments Valued at Net Asset Value
Domestic equities:
Common stocks	$	2,791	$	2,791	$	—	$	—
Mutual funds—equities	16,583		16,583		—		—
International equities:
Mutual funds—equities	43,994		43,994		—		—
Fixed income investments:
U.S. Treasuries and collateralized securities	13,920		—		13,920		—
Mutual funds—bonds	81,634		81,634		—		—
Other—mutual funds	4,913		4,913		—		—
Cash and money market accounts	1,661		1,661		—		—
Other - partnerships/joint ventures	15,431		—		—		15,431
Total	$	180,927	$	151,576	$	13,920	$	15,431

The fair values of the Company's international defined benefit pension plans' assets at December 31, 2024 by asset class are as follows:

(In thousands)	Total		Level 1		Level 2
Equity securities:
Mutual funds—equities	$	5,342	$	—	$	5,342
Fixed income investments:
Mutual funds—bonds	576,540		—		576,540
Insurance contracts	4,394		—		4,394
Other:
Other mutual funds	14,244		—		14,244
Cash and money market accounts	11,147		11,147		—
Total	$	611,667	$	11,147	$	600,520

The fair values of the Company's international defined benefit pension plans' assets at December 31, 2023 by asset class are as follows:

(In thousands)	Total		Level 1		Level 2
Equity securities:
Mutual funds—equities	$	71,980	$	—	$	71,980
Fixed income investments:
Mutual funds—bonds	552,898		—		552,898
Insurance contracts	4,631		—		4,631
Other:
Other mutual funds	36,263		—		36,263
Cash and money market accounts	3,249		3,249		—
Total	$	669,021	$	3,249	$	665,772

The following is a description of the valuation methodologies used for the defined benefit pension plans' investments measured at fair value:

•Level 1 Fair Value Measurements—Investments in interest-bearing cash are stated at cost, which approximates fair value. The fair values of money market accounts and certain mutual funds are based on quoted net asset values of the shares held by the plan at year-end. The fair values of domestic and international stocks and corporate bonds, notes and convertible debentures are valued at the closing price reported in the active market on which the individual securities are traded.

•Level 2 Fair Value Measurements—The fair values of investments in mutual funds for which quoted net asset values in an active market are not available are valued by the investment advisor based on the current market values of the underlying assets of the mutual fund based on information reported by the investment consistent with audited financial statements of the mutual fund. Further information concerning these mutual funds may be obtained from their separate audited financial statements. Investments in U.S. Treasury notes and collateralized securities are valued based on yields currently available on comparable securities of issuers with similar credit ratings.

Multiemployer Pension Plans

The Company, through HE, contributes to several MEPPs under the terms of collective-bargaining agreements that cover union-represented employees, many of whom are temporary in nature. The Company's total contributions to MEPPs were $1.8 million, $1.9 million and $1.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.