Retirement Plans

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Retirement Plans [Abstract]

Retirement Plans

(11) Retirement Plans

The Company sponsors a defined benefit plan for certain of its inland vessel personnel and shore based tankermen. The plan benefits are based on an employee’s years of service and compensation. The plan assets consist primarily of equity and fixed income securities.

On April 12, 2017, the Company amended its pension plan to cease all benefit accruals for periods after May 31, 2017 for certain participants. Participants grandfathered and not impacted were those, as of the close of business on May 31, 2017, who either (a) had completed 15 years of pension service or (b) had attained age 50 and completed 10 years of pension service. Participants non-grandfathered are eligible to receive discretionary 401(k) plan contributions.

The Company’s pension plan funding strategy is to make annual contributions in amounts equal to or greater than amounts necessary to meet minimum government funding requirements. The plan’s benefit obligations are based on a variety of demographic and economic assumptions, and the pension plan assets’ returns are subject to various risks, including market and interest rate risk, making an accurate prediction of the pension plan contribution difficult. Based on current pension plan assets and market conditions, the Company does not expect to make a contribution to the Kirby pension plan during 2021.

On February 14, 2018, with the acquisition of Higman Marine, Inc. and its affiliated companies (“Higman”), the Company assumed Higman’s pension plan for its inland vessel personnel and office staff. On March 27, 2018, the Company amended the Higman pension plan to close it to all new entrants and cease all benefit accruals for periods after May 15, 2018 for all participants.  The Company made a contribution of $479,000 to the Higman pension plan during the three months ended March 31, 2021. The Company does not expect to make any additional contributions during 2021.

The Company sponsors an unfunded defined benefit health care plan that provides limited postretirement medical benefits to employees who meet minimum age and service requirements, and to eligible dependents. The plan limits cost increases in the Company’s contribution to 4% per year. The plan is contributory, with retiree contributions adjusted annually. The plan eliminated coverage for future retirees as of December 31, 2011. The Company also has an unfunded defined benefit supplemental executive retirement plan (“SERP”) that was assumed in an acquisition in 1999. That plan ceased to accrue additional benefits effective January 1, 2000.

The components of net periodic benefit cost for the Company’s defined benefit plans were as follows (in thousands):

	Pension Benefits
	Pension Plans						SERP
	Three Months Ended March 31,						Three Months Ended March 31,
	2021			2020			2021		2020
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost	$	1,927		$	1,917		$	—	$	—
Interest cost		3,584			3,890			8		10
Expected return on plan assets		(6,574	)		(6,188	)		—		—
Amortization of actuarial loss		1,098			232			10		9
Net periodic benefit cost	$	35		$	(149	)	$	18	$	19

The components of net periodic benefit cost for the Company’s postretirement benefit plan were as follows (in thousands):

	Other Postretirement Benefits
	Postretirement Welfare Plan
	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2021			2020
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Interest cost	$	4		$	6
Amortization of actuarial gain		(113	)		(131	)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	(109	)	$	(125	)