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Employee Benefits
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2025
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee Benefits Employee Benefits
Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Washington Trust maintained a qualified pension plan for the benefit of certain eligible employees who were hired prior to October 1, 2007. Washington Trust also has non-qualified retirement plans to provide supplemental retirement benefits to certain employees, as defined in the plans. These defined benefit pension plans were previously amended to freeze benefit accruals after a 10-year transition period, which ended in December 2023.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the Corporation’s Board of Directors approved a resolution to terminate the qualified pension plan and participants were notified of the termination. In the first quarter of 2025, the qualified pension plan liability was settled through a combination of lump sum payments to participants and the purchase of a group annuity contract from a highly-rated insurance company. This resulted in a pre-tax non-cash pension settlement charge of $6.4 million being recognized in noninterest expenses the first quarter of 2025. The settlement charge included the recognition of pre-tax actuarial losses accumulated in AOCL and the effects of the remeasurement of plan assets and liabilities upon settlement. In the third quarter of 2025 and as a result of the plan’s over-funded status, remaining surplus plan assets of $10.5 million were transferred directly to the Corporation’s 401(k) Plan (a QRP) to fund non-elective employer contributions.

Pension benefit costs and benefit obligations may incorporate various actuarial and other assumptions, such as discount rates, mortality, rate of return on plan assets, and compensation increases. Starting in 2024, pension benefit cost for the qualified pension plan also included considerations for the termination of the qualified pension plan. Washington Trust evaluates assumptions annually.
The following table presents the plans’ projected benefit obligations, fair value of plan assets and funded (unfunded) status:
(Dollars in thousands)Qualified
Pension Plan		Non-Qualified
Retirement Plans
At December 31, 2025202420252024
Change in Benefit Obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of period
$69,667 $75,284 $12,720 $13,195 
Service cost (1)
— 500 — — 
Interest cost
15 3,331 652 649 
Actuarial (gain) loss(1,216)(3,021)620 (176)
Benefits paid
(68,195)(5,586)(981)(948)
Administrative expenses
(271)(841)— — 
Benefit obligation at end of period
— 69,667 13,011 12,720 
Change in Plan Assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period
77,401 82,837 — — 
Actual return on plan assets
1,572 991 — — 
Employer contributions
— — 981 948 
Benefits paid
(68,195)(5,586)(981)(948)
Administrative expenses
(271)(841)— — 
Transfer to QRP
(10,507)— — — 
Fair value of plan assets at end of period
— 77,401 — — 
Funded (unfunded) status at end of period (2)
$— $7,734 ($13,011)($12,720)
(1)Service cost for 2024 represents administrative expenses related to the termination of the qualified pension plan.
(2)Funded status of the qualified pension plan is included in other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Unfunded status of the non-qualified retirement plans is included in other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The non-qualified retirement plans provide for the designation of assets in rabbi trusts.  Securities available for sale and other short-term investments designated for this purpose, with the carrying value of $12.8 million and $13.0 million are included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

There was no accumulated benefit obligation for the qualified pension plan at December 31, 2025, compared to $69.7 million at December 31, 2024.  The accumulated benefit obligation for the non-qualified retirement plans amounted to $13.0 million and $12.7 million, respectively, at December 31, 2025 and 2024.

The following table presents the amounts included in AOCL related to the qualified pension plan and non-qualified retirement plans:
(Dollars in thousands)Qualified
Pension Plan		Non-Qualified
Retirement Plans
At December 31, 2025202420252024
Net actuarial loss included in AOCL, pre-tax
$— $8,936 $3,144 $2,640 
The following table presents components of net periodic benefit cost and other amounts recognized in other comprehensive income (loss), on a pre-tax basis:
(Dollars in thousands)Qualified
Pension Plan		Non-Qualified
Retirement Plans
Years ended December 31, 202520242023202520242023
Net Periodic Benefit Cost:
Service cost (1)
$— $500 $1,403 $— $— $156 
Interest cost (2)
15 3,331 3,540 652 649 706 
Expected return on plan assets (2)
(34)(4,111)(4,590)— — — 
Recognized net actuarial loss (2)
— — — 115 123 237 
Net periodic benefit cost before settlement(19)(280)353 767 772 1,099 
Pension plan settlement charge6,436 — — — — — 
Net periodic benefit cost
6,417 (280)353 767 772 1,099 
Other Changes in Plan Assets and Benefit Obligations Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (on a pre-tax basis):
Net change(8,936)99 6,991 504 (299)(516)
Recognized in other comprehensive income (loss)
(8,936)99 6,991 504 (299)(516)
Total recognized in net periodic benefit cost and other comprehensive income (loss)
($2,519)($181)$7,344 $1,271 $473 $583 
(1)Included in salaries and employee benefits expense in the Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). Service cost for 2024 represents administrative expenses related to the termination of the qualified pension plan.
(2)Included in other expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).

Assumptions
The following table presents the measurement date and weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations at December 31, 2025 and 2024:
Qualified
Pension Plan		Non-Qualified
Retirement Plans
2025202420252024
Measurement dateDec 31, 2025Dec 31, 2024Dec 31, 2025Dec 31, 2024
Discount rateN/A4.53%5.33%5.60%
Rate of compensation increaseN/AN/AN/AN/A

The following table presents the measurement date and weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023:
Qualified Pension PlanNon-Qualified Retirement Plans
202520242023202520242023
Measurement dateDec 31, 2024Dec 31, 2023Dec 31, 2022Dec 31, 2024Dec 31, 2023Dec 31, 2022
Equivalent single discount rate for benefit obligations
N/A4.51%5.54%5.64%5.15%5.50%
Equivalent single discount rate for service cost
N/AN/A5.60 N/A5.27 5.61 
Equivalent single discount rate for interest cost
N/A4.51 5.43 5.34 5.11 5.40 
Expected long-term return on plan assets
N/A4.75 5.25 N/AN/AN/A
Rate of compensation increase
N/A0.50 5.00 N/AN/A5.00 

The discount rate assumption for defined benefit pension plans is reset on the measurement date.  Discount rates are selected by matching expected future benefit payments stream to a yield curve based on a selection of high-quality fixed-income debt securities. Decreases in discount rates increase the present value of pension obligations and increase our pension costs, while increases in discount rates have the opposite effect.
The "spot rate approach" was utilized in the calculation of interest and service cost. The spot rate approach applies separate discount rates for each projected benefit payment in the calculation of interest and service cost. This approach provides a more precise measurement of interest cost and service cost by improving the correlation between projected benefit cash flows and their corresponding spot rates. As noted above, the defined benefit pension plans were previously amended to freeze benefit accruals, and therefore there is no longer a service cost component.

The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets was based on what the Corporation believed was realistically achievable based on the types of assets held by the plan and the plan’s investment practices.  The assumption was updated annually, taking into account the asset allocation, historical asset return trends on the types of assets held and the current and expected economic conditions. Decreases in the long-term rate of return assumption on plan assets increase pension costs.

Plan Assets
As disclosed, the termination of the qualified pension plan was completed in 2025 and remaining surplus assets were transferred directly to the Corporation’s 401(k) plan. The following table presents the fair values of the qualified pension plan’s assets at December 31, 2024:
(Dollars in thousands)Fair Value Measurements Using
Fair Value
December 31, 2024Level 1Level 2Level 3
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$29,950 $— $— $29,950 
Obligations of U.S. government-sponsored enterprises
— 42,052 — 42,052 
Obligations of states and political subdivisions— 816 — 816 
Corporate bonds— 496 — 496 
Mutual funds4,087 — — 4,087 
Total plan assets$34,037 $43,364 $— $77,401 

The qualified pension plan used fair value measurements to record fair value adjustments to the securities held in its investment portfolio.

When available, the qualified pension plan used quoted market prices to determine the fair value of securities; such items were classified as Level 1. This category included cash and cash equivalents, as well as exchange-traded mutual funds.

Level 2 securities in the qualified pension plan included debt securities with quoted prices, which are traded less frequently than exchange-traded instruments, whose values were determined using matrix pricing with inputs that are observable in the market or can be derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data.  This category included obligations of U.S. government-sponsored enterprises, obligations of states and political subdivisions and corporate bonds.

In certain cases where there was limited activity or less transparency around inputs to the valuation, securities would be classified as Level 3.  As of December 31, 2024, the qualified pension plan did not have any securities in the Level 3 category.

The following table presents the asset allocations of the qualified pension plan, by asset category, at December 31, 2024:
Allocation
Asset Category:
Cash and cash equivalents38.7%
Fixed income securities (1)
56.0 
Mutual funds5.3 
Total100.0%
(1)Includes obligations of U.S. government agencies, U.S. government-sponsored enterprises, states and political subdivisions, and corporate bonds.
Cash Flows
Contributions
The Code permits flexibility in plan contributions so that normally a range of contributions is possible. The Corporation expects to contribute $1.0 million in benefits payments to the non-qualified retirement plans in 2026.

Estimated Future Benefit Payments
The following table presents the benefit payments expected to be paid:
(Dollars in thousands)Non-Qualified
Retirement Plans
Years ending December 31,2026$1,017 
20271,044 
20281,049 
20291,051 
20301,025 
2031 and thereafter4,847 

401(k) Plan
The Corporation’s 401(k) Plan, which covers substantially all employees, provides a matching contribution of up to a maximum of 3% of an employee’s eligible compensation. In addition, effective January 1, 2024, participating employees receive a non-elective employer contribution of 4% of eligible compensation.  Prior to January 1, 2024, only employees who were ineligible for participation in the qualified defined benefit pension plan received the non-elective employer contribution of 4%. As noted above, as the result of the terminated qualified pension plan’s over-funded status, remaining surplus assets were transferred directly to the Corporation’s 401(k) Plan, a QRP, and are being used to fund non-elective employer contributions. QRP assets amounted to $10.0 million at December 31, 2025, are invested in a money market mutual fund and are included in short-term investments in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Total employer contributions under this plan amounted to $4.3 million, $4.2 million and $3.5 million in 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Deferred Compensation Plan
The Amended and Restated Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan provides supplemental retirement and tax benefits to directors and certain officers.  The plan is funded primarily through pre-tax contributions made by the participants.  The assets and liabilities of the Deferred Compensation Plan are recorded at fair value in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.  The participants in the plan bear the risk of market fluctuations of the underlying assets.  The accrued liability related to this plan amounted to $22.2 million and $21.5 million, respectively, at December 31, 2025 and 2024, and is included in other liabilities on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.  The corresponding invested assets are reported in other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.