Employee Benefits

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

The Company has defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans, and a postretirement benefit plan.

Defined Contribution Plans

The Bank of Hawaii Retirement Savings Plan (the “Savings Plan”) has three Company contribution components in addition to employee contributions: 1) 401(k) matching, as described below; 2) a 3% fixed amount based on eligible compensation; and 3) a discretionary value-sharing contribution.

Under the 401(k) matching component, participating employees may contribute up to 50% of their eligible compensation (within federal limits) to the Savings Plan. The Company makes matching contributions on behalf of participants equal to $1.25 for each $1.00 contributed by participants, up to 2% of the participants’ eligible compensation, and $0.50 for every $1.00 contributed by participants over 2%, up to 5% of the participants’ eligible compensation. A 3% fixed contribution and a discretionary value-sharing contribution, that is linked to the Company’s financial goals, are made regardless of whether the participating employee contributes to the Savings Plan and are invested in accordance with the participant’s selection of investment options available under the Savings Plan. The Company also has a non-qualified savings plan which covers certain employees with compensation exceeding Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) limits on pay amounts in the allocation of the Savings Plan’s benefits. Total expense for all components of the Company’s defined contribution plans was $15.2 million, $14.5 million, and $13.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, December 31, 2018, and December 31, 2017, respectively.

Defined Benefit Plans

The Company has two defined benefit plans (the “Pension Plans”). In 1995, the Company froze its non-contributory, qualified defined benefit retirement plan (the “Retirement Plan”) and the excess retirement plan (the “Excess Plan”), which covered employees of the Company and participating subsidiaries who met certain eligibility requirements. Beginning January 1, 2001, the Pension Plans no longer provided for compensation increases in the determination of benefits. The projected benefit obligation is equal to the accumulated benefit obligation due to the frozen status of the Pension Plans.

The assets of the Retirement Plan primarily consist of equity and fixed income mutual funds.

The Excess Plan is a non-qualified excess retirement benefit plan which covers certain employees of the Company and participating subsidiaries with compensation exceeding IRS limits on pay amounts applicable to the Pension Plan’s benefit formula. The Excess Plan has no plan assets. The Excess Plan’s projected benefit obligation and accumulated benefit obligation were $3.6 million for December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018.

Postretirement Benefit Plan

The Company’s postretirement benefit plan provides retirees hired before January 1, 2012, with medical and dental insurance coverage. For eligible participants that retired before 2008 and met certain age requirements, the Company and retiree share in the cost of providing postretirement benefits where both the employer and retiree pay a portion of the insurance premiums. Eligible participants who retired before 2008 who did not meet certain age requirements continued on the Company’s benefit plans, but pay for their full insurance premiums. Participants who retired on or after January 1, 2008, who had medical or dental coverage under the Company’s plans immediately before retirement and meet certain age and years of service requirements as of December 31, 2008, are also eligible to participate in the Company’s benefit plans, but must pay for their full insurance premiums. Retirees age 65 and older are provided with a Medicare supplemental plan subsidy. Most employees of the Company who have met certain eligibility requirements are covered by this plan. Participants who retired on or after January 1, 2008, who met certain age and/or years of service requirements, are eligible for the Health Reimbursement Account (“HRA”) program. The HRA program provides retirees with an initial credit based on years of service. Thereafter, an annual credit up to a maximum of $1,200 is provided into the HRA. The retiree may use the HRA for medical, vision, prescription drug and dental premiums, co-payments, and medically necessary health care expenses that are not covered by any medical or dental insurance program or flexible health spending account. The plan was amended to provide access-only coverage for employees hired on or after January 1, 2012, and lowered eligibility for access from age 55 to age 50. These retirees continue on the medical and dental plan until age 65 paying the full premium. As of December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018, the Company had no segregated assets to provide for postretirement benefits.

The following table provides a reconciliation of changes in benefit obligation and fair value of plan assets, as well as the funded status recognized in the Company’s consolidated statements of condition for the Pension Plans and postretirement benefit plan for the years ended December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018.



	Pension Benefits						Postretirement Benefits
(dollars in thousands)	2019			2018			2019			2018
Benefit Obligation at Beginning of Year	$	102,662		$	110,080		$	23,452		$	24,206
Service Cost	—			—			455			457
Interest Cost	4,401			4,193			1,025			936
Plan Amendment ³	—			—			—			—
Actuarial Losses (Gains)	10,359			(5,031		)	4,095			(869		)
Employer Benefits Paid ¹	(6,785		)	(6,580		)	(1,456		)	(1,278		)
Benefit Obligation at End of Year	$	110,637		$	102,662		$	27,571		$	23,452
Fair Value of Plan Assets at Beginning of Year	$	85,553		$	96,908		$	—		$	—
Actual Return on Plan Assets	14,400			(5,246		)	—			—
Employer Contributions	470			471			1,456			1,278
Employer Benefits Paid ¹	(6,785		)	(6,580		)	(1,456		)	(1,278		)
Fair Value of Plan Assets at End of Year	$	93,638		$	85,553		$	—		$	—
Funded Status at End of Year ²	$	(16,999	)	$	(17,109	)	$	(27,571	)	$	(23,452	)


¹	Participants' contributions relative to the postretirement benefit plan were offset against employer benefits paid in the table above. Participants' contributions for postretirement benefits were $0.7 million and $0.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018, respectively.


²	Amounts are recognized in Retirement Benefits Payable in the consolidated statements of condition.


³	For certain retirees, medical premiums were changed to a full retiree rate instead of a blended rate.

The changes in actuarial losses (gains) related to the Company’s Pension and postretirement benefit Plans are mainly due to changes in discount rates for the years ended December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the change in discount rate resulted in a $10.8 million increase to the Company’s Pension Plans liability and a $3.4 million increase to the Company’s postretirement benefit plan liability. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the change in discount rate resulted in a $5.4 million reduction to the Company’s Pension Plans liability and a $1.6 million reduction to the Company’s postretirement benefit plan liability.

The following presents the amounts recognized in the Company’s accumulated other comprehensive income for the Pension Plans and postretirement benefit plan as of December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018.



	Pension Benefits						Postretirement Benefits
(dollars in thousands)	2019			2018			2019		2018
Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax
Net Actuarial Gains (Losses)	$	(41,404	)	$	(42,127	)	$	1,003	$	4,261
Net Prior Service Credit	—			—			1,645		1,856
Total Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax	$	(41,404	)	$	(42,127	)	$	2,648	$	6,117

Components of net periodic benefit cost for the Company’s Pension Plans and the postretirement benefit plan are presented in the following table for the years ended December 31, 2019, December 31, 2018, and December 31, 2017.



	Pension Benefits									Postretirement Benefits
(dollars in thousands)	2019			2018			2017			2019			2018			2017
Service Cost	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	455		$	457		$	453
Interest Cost	4,401			4,193			4,665			1,025			936			1,093
Expected Return on Plan Assets	(4,993		)	(5,122		)	(5,011		)	—			—			—
Amortization of:
Prior Service Credit¹	—			—			—			(288		)	(567		)	(322		)
Net Actuarial Losses (Gains) ¹	1,937			2,099			1,817			(339		)	(264		)	(435		)
Net Periodic Benefit Cost	$	1,345		$	1,170		$	1,471		$	853		$	562		$	789


¹	Represents reclassification adjustments from accumulated other comprehensive income during the period.

Assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations as of December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018, for the Company’s Pension Plans and postretirement benefit plan were as follows:



	Pension Benefits				Postretirement Benefits
	2019		2018		2019		2018
Weighted Average Assumptions as of December 31:
Discount Rate	3.36	%	4.41	%	3.42	%	4.48	%
Health Care Cost Trend Rate Assumed For Next Year	—		—		5.70	%	6.00	%

The health care cost trend rate is assumed to decrease annually, until reaching the ultimate trend rate of 4.5% in 2036.

Assumptions used to determine the net periodic benefit cost for the Company’s Pension Plans and postretirement benefit plan for the years ended December 31, 2019, December 31, 2018, and December 31, 2017, were as follows:



	Pension Benefits						Postretirement Benefits
	2019		2018		2017		2019		2018		2017
Weighted Average Assumptions as of December 31:
Discount Rate	4.41	%	3.90	%	4.45	%	4.48	%	3.96	%	4.57	%
Expected Long-Term Rate of Return on Plan Assets	5.75	%	5.75	%	5.75	%	—		—		—
Health Care Cost Trend Rate	—		—		—		6.00	%	6.30	%	6.50	%

A combination of factors is used by management in determining the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets. Historical return experience for major asset categories are evaluated and current market factors, such as inflation and interest rates, are considered in determining the expected long-term rate of return assumption.

The Company expects to contribute $0.4 million to the Pension Plans and $1.0 million to the postretirement benefit plan for the year ending December 31, 2020.

As of December 31, 2019, expected benefits to be paid in each of the next five years and in the aggregate for the five years thereafter were as follows:



(dollars in thousands)	Pension Benefits			Postretirement Benefits
2020		$	7,073		$	1,027
2021		7,215			1,064
2022		7,229			1,146
2023		7,238			1,224
2024		7,240			1,332
Years 2025-2029		35,104			8,612

Retirement Plan Assets

The Company’s overall investment strategy is to maintain the purchasing power of the current assets and all future contributions by producing positive rates of return on plan assets; achieve capital growth towards the attainment of full funding of the Retirement Plan’s termination liability; maximize returns within reasonable and prudent levels of risk; and control costs of administering the plan and managing the investments. The long-term investment objective is to achieve an overall annualized total return, gross of fees, above the blended benchmark index comprised of 36% MSCI USA IMI Index, 24% MSCI ACWI ex-US Index, and 40% Barclays Aggregate Bond Index.

Subject to liquidity requirements, the asset allocation targets are 60% for equity securities, 40% for fixed income securities with a 10% to 20% range permitted from the strategic targets, and zero to 20% for cash. Within the equity securities portfolio, the range for domestic securities is from 50% to 100% and the range for international securities is from 0% to 50%. All assets selected for the Retirement Plan must have a readily ascertainable market value and must be readily marketable.

Due to market fluctuations or cash flows, the allocation for each asset class may be breached by as much as 5% on a temporary basis. However, asset allocations are expected to conform to target ranges within 90 days of such an occurrence.

The fair values of the Retirement Plan assets as of December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018, by asset category were as follows:



	Fair Value Measurements
Asset Category (dollars in thousands)	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)			Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Other Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)			Total as of Dec. 31, 2019		Total as of Dec. 31, 2018
Cash		$	1,269		$	—		$	—	$	1,269	$	726
Equity Securities – Mutual Funds:
Large-Cap		1,731			—			—		1,731		1,593
Mixed-Cap		29,336			—			—		29,336		25,298
International		23,961			—			—		23,961		21,621
Emerging Market		2,342			—			—		2,342		2,150
Fixed Income Securities – Mutual Funds		34,999			—			—		34,999		34,165
Total		$	93,638		$	—		$	—	$	93,638	$	85,553

Quoted prices for these investments were available in active markets, and therefore were classified as Level 1 measurements in the fair value hierarchy.